Project

Discipline

Comparative income statistics; Data analysis; Luxembourg Income Study

Lead
Lay summary
LIS, the Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg is an international project that makes available to researchers a harmonized database of household income. It integrates microdata from different national surveys conducted at regular intervals in 36 participating countries. With respect to Switzerland, the data come from the Swiss Survey on Household Income and Expenditures (ERC), conducted by the Federal Office of Statistics (years 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004). Switzerland also provided data, but to a lesser extent, for the years 1982 and 1992. The strength of this database is that it permits international comparisons, as well as analysis of changes over time. It is very popular among students in the political, economic, and social sciences, but also among researchers who work in the domains of poverty and income inequalities. In addition to paying for country membership fees to LIS, SNSF also finances several scholarships for young researchers to participate in the Introductory Summer Workshop in Luxembourg, as well as a Swiss LIS workshop held in Bern every other year.

Direct link to Lay Summary

Last update: 21.02.2013

Self-organised

Number	Title	Start	Funding scheme

LIS, the Cross National Data Center in Luxembourg, is a comparative microdatabase on income, wealth, and employment. Its income database includes nearly 200 data sets covering 40 countries around the world over a period going back as far as 1968. Until this year, LIS was known as the Luxembourg Income Study. The fully documented databases are accessible via a specially developed remote access system called LISSY which allows users to receive results of statistical analyses within minutes after sub-mission right to their computer wherever they are located. Password protected access is free of charge for users from contributing countries.There are five Swiss data sets included in LIS. The recent data sets originate from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. Scholarly publications with LIS data currently include 594 working papers. One of every four of them uses Swiss data, and some are authored by scholars from Switzerland. The number of users in Switzerland is similar to that of comparable small countries like Belgium, Sweden, and Norway. Promotional activities for LIS in Switzerland during the funding period will include a one-day workshop for interested researchers with presentations by LIS staff members and Swiss scholars with experience in using LIS data. In addition, part of funding will be used to send researchers working in Switzerland to the biannual one-week LIS summer workshop in Luxembourg. Beginning January 1, 2012, the president of the International Board of Directors (ASBL), governing body of LIS, will be Professor Sir Tony Atkinson, who is also a member of the FORS Scientific Board. FORS' Director Professor Dr. Peter Farago serves on the ASBL. The LIS web site www.lisdatacenter.org offers comprehensive information on every aspect of LIS.This proposal covers the Swiss participation in LIS for the years 2012-13. Continued funding will allow researchers in Switzerland to continue to access the LIS databases free of charge. In addition, it will provide a valuable opportunity for larger numbers of researchers in Switzerland to become familiar with this important data source, as well as to integrate Swiss researchers into the dynamic international arena of comparative income, wealth, and employment statistics.