The Datasets I Worked 

UK datasets:

Family Resources Survey:  The Family Resources Survey (FRS) has been conducted by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) since 1993. The FRS is the main vehicle used by the UK Department for Work and Pensions to track how the UK income distribution is changing. The FRS is a suitable choice given its national coverage and repeated cross-sectional design, together with the availability of detailed information on PHI coverage, health-related variables, income, and other demographic factors. In each wave, the FRS dataset includes information from approximately 25,000 households and around 45,000 individuals aged 16 and above across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

British Household Panel Survey (BHPS): The BHPS is a household panel that began in 1991 and follows a representative sample of individuals over time until 2009. It collects data interviewing every adult member of the sampled households. The panel survey consists of approximately 5,500 households and 10,300 individuals drawn from 250 areas in Great Britain. This data has rich information about health-related indicators.

Family Expenditure Survey (FES): The Family Expenditure Survey (FES) was an annual household survey conducted in the United Kingdom between 1957 and 2001. It was one of the most important sources of microdata on household living standards, widely used in economics, social policy, and official statistics. Each year, the FES interviewed around 6,000–7,000 households across the UK. In 2001, the FES was merged with the National Food Survey (NFS) to form the Expenditure and Food Survey (EFS). In 2008, the EFS was incorporated into the Living Costs and Food Survey (LCF), which continues today as part of the UK’s Integrated Household Survey system.

Labor Force Survey (LFS)

British Social Attitude Survey (BSAS)

China datasets:

China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS): The China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) is designed with the primary objective of assembling a high-quality, nationally representative sample of Chinese residents aged 40 and above. The overarching aim is to facilitate research on aging and health-related issues pertaining to the elderly population. Initiated with its baseline national wave in 2011, the study has been updated periodically, with the latest wave conducted in 2020. The longitudinal nature of CHARLS involves follow-ups every two years, resulting in a dataset encompassing the 2011, 2013, 2015, 2018, and 2020 waves. 

China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS): focuses on understanding labor force dynamics in China, particularly regarding migration and employment. It collects comprehensive data on individuals’ demographic characteristics, employment status, income, work conditions, and migration history. The survey targets various age groups and regions, capturing both rural and urban labor markets. CLDS aims to analyze labor market trends, migration patterns, and the impacts of policy changes on the workforce. This is a unbalanced panel data and is typically updated every two years, available data have 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 waves.

China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS): The CMDS is a repeated cross-sectional dataset focused on the migration trends and behaviors of individuals in China. It aims to understand the dynamics of internal migration, particularly among rural-to-urban migrants, capturing various demographic, economic, and social factors. The survey collects data on individual characteristics, family background, employment status, income, housing conditions, and migration motives.

China Family Panel Studies (CFPS): the CFPS  is a nationally representative, biennial longitudinal survey of Chinese communities, families, and individuals, launched in 2010 by the Institute of Social Science Survey (ISSS) at Peking University. CFPS is designed to collect longitudinal data at the individual, household, and community levels, with a focus on both economic and non-economic aspects of well-being. It provides rich information on economic activities, educational outcomes, family dynamics, interpersonal relationships, and health. Now the CFPS has 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 waves.

China Household Finance Survey (CHFS): a nationally representative household survey conducted by the Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. The CHFS collects detailed information on household demographics, income, consumption, assets, liabilities, and financial behaviors, making it one of the most comprehensive datasets for studying household finance in China. This is a large panel data and tracks about over 100,000 individuals for each wave (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 waves).

The China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS): a collaborative research project conducted by the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at ChapelHill, the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey aims to examine the effects of health, nutrition, and family planning policies, as well as to investigate how China’s socioeconomic transitions impact the overall health and nutritional status of its population. This panel survey has been conducted seven times in the years 1989, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2012, and 2015.

2010, 2015 Census data (1% of Chinese population)