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What Do Survey Data Tell Us about US Businesses?

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Abstract

This paper examines the reliability of survey data on business incomes, valuations, and rates of return, which are key inputs for studies of wealth inequality and entrepreneurial choice. We compare survey responses of business owners with available data from administrative tax records, brokered private business sales, and publicly traded company filings and document problems due to nonrepresentative samples and measurement errors across several surveys, subsamples, and years. We find that the discrepancies are economically relevant for the statistics of interest. We investigate reasons for these discrepancies and propose corrections for future survey designs.

Suggested Citation

  • Anmol Bhandari & Serdar Birinci & Ellen R. McGrattan & Kurt See, 2019. "What Do Survey Data Tell Us about US Businesses?," Working Papers 2019-021, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, revised Jan 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedlwp:90070
    DOI: 10.20955/wp.2019.021
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    Cited by:

    1. Tina Highfill & Richard Cao & Richard Schwinn & Richard Prisinzano & Danny Leung, 2020. "Measuring the Small Business Economy," BEA Working Papers 0173, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
    2. Anmol Bhandari & Serdar Birinci & Ellen R. McGrattan & Kurt See, 2020. "What Do Survey Data Tell Us about US Businesses?," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 2(4), pages 443-458, December.
    3. Heer, Burkhard & Trede, Mark, 2023. "Age-specific entrepreneurship and PAYG: Public pensions in Germany," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Lena Anayi & Nicholas Bloom & Philip Bunn & Paul Mizen & Gregory Thwaites & Ivan Yotzov, 2022. "Firming up price inflation," POID Working Papers 058, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    5. Philip Bunn & Lena Anayi & Emily Barnes & Nicholas Bloom & Paul Mizen & Gregory Thwaites & Ivan Yotzov, 2024. "How Curvy is the Phillips Curve?," NBER Working Papers 33234, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Matthew Smith & Owen Zidar & Eric Zwick, 2020. "Top Wealth in America: New Estimates and Implications for Taxing the Rich," Working Papers 264, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Center for Economic Policy Studies..
    7. Catherine, Sylvain, 2022. "Keeping options open: What motivates entrepreneurs?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(1), pages 1-21.
    8. Uribe-Terán, Carlos, 2021. "Higher taxes at the top? The role of tax avoidance," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    9. Campbell, Richard Cole & Robbins, Jacob A., 2025. "The value of private business in the United States," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    10. Carlos Madeira, 2025. "How accurately do consumers report their debts in household surveys?," BIS Working Papers 1258, Bank for International Settlements.
    11. Corina Boar & Virgiliu Midrigan, 2020. "Efficient Redistribution," NBER Working Papers 27622, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Joaquín García‐Cabo & Rocio Madera, 2024. "Does Self‐employment Pay? The Role of Unemployment and Earnings Risk," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 86(5), pages 1163-1197, October.
    13. Madeira, Carlos & Margaretic, Paula, 2022. "The impact of financial literacy on the quality of self-reported financial information," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • C83 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Survey Methods; Sampling Methods
    • E22 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity
    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies

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