NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES

NBERWORKINGPAPERSERIESU.S.IMPORTS,1972-1994:DATAANDCONCORDANCESRobertC.FeenstraWorkingPaper5515NATIONALBUREAUOFECONOMICRESEARCH1050MassachusettsAvenueCambridge,MA02138March1996Thisdatabasecouldnothavebeenassembledwithouttheinvaluableassistanceofmanypersons.IgratefullyacknowledgethecontributionsofJeanStratfordandShelaghMackayoftheInstituteofGovernmentalAffairsinacquiringanddocumentingmostoftheoriginaldatathatwereused,andinsupervisingresearchassistants;theexperttechnicaladviceprovidedbyJohnPetersoftheSocialScienceDataService;theattentionofJuriStratfordofGovernmentDocuments,ShieldsLibraryinidentifyingfurtherdatasources;andthededicatedresearchassistanceprovidedbyShunliYaoandTzu-Han(Maria)YangattheDepartmentofEconomics,andMattHodie,JoseAntonioNasserandAnthonySisonattheInstituteofGovernmentalAffairs.DuringthecourseofthisprojectfinancialsupporthasbeenreceivedfromtheFordFoundationandtheNationalScienceFoundation;thelattergrantisheldjointlywithHarryBowenandRobertLipsey,whohaveprovidedexcellentadviceonthedataandconcordances.TableofContents1.Introduction................................................................................12.RelatedResearch........................................................................23.Methodology...............................................................................34.ComparisonwithOtherDataSources........................................65.CalculationofDomestic-basedSICImports...........................136.TechnicalInformation.............................................................156A.TSUSAImportData,1972-1988...............................156B.HSImportData,1989-1994......................................186C.SICImportData,1972-1994.....................................216D.SITCImportData,1978-1994..................................246E.SICandSITCImportPrices……………………….266F.TSUSAConcordance,1972-1988.............................286G.HSConcordance,1989-1994....................................316H.HStoTSUSAConcordance....................................326I.SICandSITCNamesandConcordances………….35References...................................................................................36AppendixA:CountryNames.....................................................38AppendixB:UnitsforQuantity.................................................41ListofTablesTable1:ComparisonofValueofImports....................................7Table2:ComparisonofMSICandSICImports,1978................9Table3:FilesontheCD-ROM.....................................................141.IntroductionWiththespreadofeconomicactivityaroundtheglobe,accuratedataontradebetweencountriesisofincreasedinteresttoresearchersintheprivateandpublicsectors.ThiswasrecognizedintheUnitedStatesbytheOmnibusTradeandCompetitivenessActof1988,whichmandatedthatincreasedattentionbedevotedtothecollectionanddisseminationofinternationalstatistics.ResultingfromthelegislationwastheNationalTradeDataBank(NTDB)program,whichdistributesthedatainaCD-ROMformat.WhiletheNTDBincludesdetailedinformationonU.S.importsandexports,theearliestyearprovidedis1989.Theonlysourceforearlieryearsofimportandexportdataaremagnetictapesandprintedmedia,whichareoftendifficulttoworkwithforresearchpurposes.TheOmnibusTradeandCompetitivenessActof1988alsomandatedthattheUnitedStatesadopttheHarmonizedSystem(HS)forthecollectionofimportandexportdatabytheBureauoftheCensus.TheHSisaninternationalclassificationschemeforcommodities.Inearlieryears,U.S.importswereclassifiedaccordingtotheTariffScheduleoftheUnitedStatesAnnotated(TSUSA),whileU.S.exportswerecollectedunderthe“ScheduleB”classificationsystem.ThefactthatnoinformationfromeitheroftheseclassificationschemesisincludedintheNTDBmeansthatresearcherscannoteasilymakethelinkbetweenearlierandlateryears.Furthermore,theTSUSAandScheduleBclassificationseachchangedfrequently,sothatitisdifficulttotrackthesamecommodityoversuccessiveyears.TheseproblemshavemeantthattheTSUSAimportsandScheduleBexports,whichareapotentiallyveryrichanddetaileddatasource,havenotbeenutilizedinacademicresearchtotheextentthatispossible.TheobjectiveofthisdatabaseistoprovidecompleteinformationontheHSandTSUSAimportsascollectedbytheBureauoftheCensusfor1972-1994,onaCD-ROM.ItisanticipatedthatasecondCD-ROMdealingwithU.S.exportsover1972-1994willbeavailableatafuturedate.Theimportdataaremergedwithvariousconcordancessothatinadditiontothecommoditynumberanddescriptiveinformationsuchasthecommodityname,theStandardIndustrialClassification(SIC)numberandStandardInternationalTradeClassification(SITC)numbersareprovided.Thisallowsthatdatatobecomparedacrossyears,andacrossdifferentclassificationschemes.Inaddition,summationsoftheimportsaccordingtotheSICandSITCsystemsareincludedontheCD-ROM.22.RelatedResearchThereareseveralimportantareasofeconomicresearchwheretheCensustradedatahavebeenused.First,therecentconcernintheUnitedStatesthattheconsumerpriceindexmayoverstatetheextentofpriceinflationalsoappliestotheimportpriceindex,sothatitisimportanttohaveseveralsourcesofpriceinformation.TheTSUSAandHSimpo