RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The American Opportunity Study: A New Infrastructure for Monitoring Outcomes, Evaluating Policy, and Advancing Basic Science
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 20
OP 39
DO 10.7758/RSF.2019.5.2.02
VO 5
IS 2
A1 David B. Grusky
A1 Michael Hout
A1 Timothy M. Smeeding
A1 C. Matthew Snipp
YR 2019
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/5/2/20.abstract
AB The American Opportunity Study is an ongoing initiative to build the country’s capacity to access and analyze linked administrative data. It is best viewed as a population-level scaffolding on which other administrative data can then be hung. This scaffolding, if used as a stand-alone resource, will allow for long-run analyses of fundamental population and labor market processes. If combined with data from other sources, it will allow for long-run program evaluation and other experimental and quasi-experimental analyses. We discuss the current status of the American Opportunity Study, its potential to advance the field, remaining obstacles that must be overcome to build it, and how it can work within the guidelines suggested by the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking.