The Social Assistance and Minimum Income Protection Interim Data-Set (SaMip) is an ongoing research project at the Swedish Institute for Social Research (Stockholm University). The aim of the data-set is to improve the possibilities to conduct large-scale institutionally informed comparative and longitudinal analyses of social policy in general and of social assistance and related policy programs of last-resort in particular. 

SaMip includes detailed information on the benefit position of low-income households in industrialized welfare democracies. In the current version (ver. 2.0) SaMip includes 34 countries and observations are for every year 1990-2009. The variables in the dataset are based on a type-case approach, where benefit levels have been calculated for three typical households; a single person, a lone parent, and a two parent family.

The variables included in the data-set are particularly well suited for at least three areas of comparative and longitudinal research:

● descriptive analyses of the evolution of targeted social policy programs,
● causal analyses on welfare reform, and
● institutional influence on household income.

When SaMip is used in any of these research areas, it can fruitfully be combined with other macro- and micro-level data-sets.

If we borrow the language from the computer software industry, the SaMip can to some extent be viewed as an open source project, whereby each user is encouraged to contribute to the improvement and quality of the data-set in every way possible. Although the variables in the data-set have been carefully extracted, processed and analyzed, no warranty is given that the information in the data-set is free from error. Researchers involved in the establishment of SaMip shall not be liable for any loss suffered through the use of any of this information.

The Social Assistance and Minimum Income Protection Interim Data-Set is free to use, but each user is kindly asked to send a copy of the final paper to Kenneth Nelson. Comments and suggestions on corrections and modifications to the data-set can also be sent to Kenneth Nelson at the following address:

Kenneth Nelson
Associate Professor of Sociology
Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI)
Stockholm University
SE-10691 Stockholm
SWEDEN

Phone: +46 8 6747128
Fax: +46 8 154670
E-mail: kennethn@sofi.su.se

_{DOWNLOAD SaMip files} 

• SaMip 2.0 Beta Documentation.pdf
• SaMip 2.0 Beta Variables and Codes.pdf
• SaMip 2.0 Beta Data.xls