RAND Fat File For HRS 2004  (Wave 7)
========================================================
This file is based on the Early Release of HRS 2004 data.

*** CHANGES IN VERSION A ***

Base on data description from HRS, Version A of the fat file for the early
release 2004 data drops 8 cases from the raw data.
Please see page 16 under "8A. Drop Eight Respondents from all Data Files"
in the data description file on the HRS web site for details
(http://hrsonline.isr.umich.edu/meta/2004/core/desc/h04dd.pdf).

********************************************************
There is no documentation for the RAND HRS 2004 Fat File at this time besides
this file but it includes variables similar to those derived for 1998.

see the randff_h98f1.pdf file for a description of the 1998 files.
[Note: in 2004, added variables that apply to the respondent and spouse
are named with "R" and "P", respectively, added as the third character,  
rather than the second, e.g., JQR014 and JQP014 instead of FR4633 and
FP4633.]

The data files, provided in three formats, have been encrypted.  It is
important to copy these files to hard drive before unencrypting.  When the
corresponding *.zip file is double-clicked, select extract, select the
folder to store the files, and provide the proper pass-phrase.  A
subfolder will be created and the data files will be unzipped to that
folder (Target subfolder).  Please use WinZip V10 or higher to unzip
the file.  You can download WinZip from www.winzip.com.

Format          File                    Target subfolder
------		----			----------------
Sas V8          h04e1_Sas8.zip          Sas8\
Stata 8 SE      h04e1_Stata8SE.zip      Stata8SE\
Spss            h04e1_Spss.zip          Spss\

All data files are respondent level files, sorted by HHIDPN, with 20139
observations.

==========================================================================
The RAND fat file for HRS 2004 is stored as:

Sas8\h04e1a.sas7bdat    = SAS V8 for Unix/PC
Stata8SE\h04e1a.dta     = Stata V8 SE
Spss\h04e1a.sav         = Spss

h04e1a.cont contains the SAS contents listing for the h04e1a SAS
data set.

h04e1a.tabs contains frequency tables and means of some variables.

=======================================================================

The RAND Income and Wealth Imputations are separate files, 
each stored in several formats: 

Sas8\incm04e1.sas7bdat  = SAS V8 for Unix/PC
Stata8SE\incm04e1.dta   = Stata V8 SE
Spss\incm04e1.sav       = Spss

Sas8\wlth04e1.sas7bdat  = SAS V8 for Unix/PC
Stata8SE\wlth04e1.dta   = Stata V8 SE
Spss\wlth04e1.sav       = Spss

These files are similar to the 1998 files.  
See the randff_h98f1.pdf file for a description of the 1998 files.

This version of the income imputation file includes additional 
variables for imputed monthly income amounts and the numbers of 
months received, and for up to three lump sums, not restricted 
to those received in the last calendar year.

The monthly income amounts are now included for Social Security
disability (R7MSDI/S7MSDI) and retirement (R7MSS/S7MSS),
veterans benefits (R7MVET/S7MVET), pensions (R7MPEN1-R7MPEN3 and
S7MPEN1-S7MPEN3), annuities (R7MANN1-R7MANN3 and S7MANN1-S7MANN3),
SSI (H7MSSI), and food stamps (H7MFOOD).  There are corresponding
variables giving the number of months received for each of these
types of income as well, e.g., R7NSDI/S7NSDI, R7NSS/S7NSS, etc.

The lump sum variables are IH7LUMP1-IH7LUMP3 for the imputed lump sum
amounts, H7OLUMP1-H7OLUMP3 for whether received lump sums, and H7FLUMP1-
H7FLUMP3 for the imputation flags.  The type of lump sum received
can be found in JQ484_1-JQ484_3.

Note that income from trusts and alimony were dropped from the 2004
questionnaire.

incm04e1.cont and wlth04e1.cont contain the SAS contents listings
for the incm04e1 and wlth04e1 SAS data sets.

incm04e1.tabs and wlth04e1.tabs contain frequency tables and means of some
variables.

==============================================================
The following files provide SAS formats and the variables
assignments for them. They are in the Fmts\ subdirectory.

income.fmt	SAS formats (VALUE statements) for income
		imputation and received flags
wealth.fmt	SAS formats (VALUE statements) for wealth
		imputation and ownership flags

incwealth04.format  FORMAT statements mapping income and wealth
		imputation and ownership flags to SAS formats

hrs04.fmt       SAS formats (VALUE statements) for some variables.
		The FORMAT statements mapping variables to value
		labels are in the comments at the top of this file.

Note: there are no categorical bracket variables in the file.  The 
      presentation of the results of unfolding bracket questions
      changed considerably in the raw data.  They are now presented 
      as a MIN, MAX, and RESULT triplet.
     				
========================================================================

The HRS data used for these files are:
   - HRS 2004, Early Release
   - Tracker 2002.V2

========================================================================