Access to microdata from official statistics

Abstract

"The four publicly funded Research Data Centers in Germany - the Research Data Center o the Federal Employment Agency, the Research Data Center of the German Pension Insurance, the Research Data Center of the Statistical Offices of the German Länder and the Research Data Center of the Federal Statistical Office - have made a significant improvement to the data and services available to researchers over the past few years. Their services are widely used, empirical findings lead to refereed publications and the state of research in rendering microdata anonymous has made great leaps. Many policy decisions are now planned and evaluated on the basis of data originating from the Research Data Centers. Germany has gone from the bottom of Europe's league with regard to the use of individual data to an innovative provider of new ideas, such as on access to individual data for teaching purposes and linked employer-employee datasets. In 2007, the Research Data Centers developed criteria for their specific design in conjunction with the German Data Forum (RatSWD). The aim of this paper is to describe the key criteria for a common working basis for the Research Data Centers, detailed descriptions of the four Research Data Centers and an outlook over future German developments." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Bender, S., Himmelreicher, R., Zühlke, S. & Zwick, M. (2010): Access to microdata from official statistics. In: German Data Forum & Rat für Sozial- und Wirtschaftsdaten (Hrsg.) (2010): Building on progress : expanding the research infrastructure for the social, economic, and behavioral sciences. Vol. 1, p. 215-230.