The Role of Micro-level Panel Data in Policy Research

This paper focuses on the value of longitudinal micro-level data for policy centered research on behavioral and economic well-being. It provides examples of policy questions that can best be answered using such data and shows how they have been answered using data from four ongoing longitudinal panels--the BHPS (British Household Panel Study), the GSOEP (German Socio-Economic Panel), the HRS (Health and Retirement Study) and the PSID (Panel Study of Income Dynamics). Finally, it suggests a set of policy issues that can be considered using these data or from a national or a cross-national perspective.