If there are only 4,240 firms included on the 2003 data set, why are there 21,200 observations in the data set?
For the 2003 release, the SSBF data set includes 5 implicates. Each implicate includes 4,240 firms. In total, the entire data set contains 21,200 observations. NOTE: Even though there are five implicates, there are still only 4,240 firm observations. Across implicates, the values of all reported variables remain constant, but the values of imputed variables may differ. The implicates are provided to allow users to adjust the estimated standard errors and confidence intervals to account for the additional variance that imputation may cause. For additional information, please consult the 2003 Codebook and Technical Manual, especially Chapter V.
