Commemorating the 50th anniversary of
the National Longitudinal Surveys
NLS user since 1988
I learned that longitudinal studies based on panel data offer greater promise for understanding dynamics of human behavior and the social environment that can better inform policymakers than would be the case without them.
The demographer Arthur Dolinsky introduced me to the NLS shortly after I began my academic career while at the University of Pennsylvania in the late 1980s. For many of the social policy related questions I had wanted to explore, the NLS provided a rich source of panel data.