Abstract People's deaths appear to have a variety of short-term and long-term effects upon those family members who survive. Their family ties may be disrupted, their own health often seems to deteriorate and it is apparently common for their economic situations to be adversly effected. The precise effects expected would vary, of course, with the relationship between deceased and survivor; but there are a number of theoretically interesting hypotheses that could be examined. Studies of the economic, familial and health-related effects of deaths have been limited, however, by the absence of rich data bases. For nearly 20 years, the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) has been following a representative sample of households in which there are between 50 and l00 deaths each year. These deaths have been noted, but not systematically pulled together. The extensive information already gathered for PSID households along with its longitudinal qualities make it an ideal source of information from which to create a data base for studying the effects of death. In addition, the investigators will link information from state death certificates with the PSID data to create a data base that will be of substantial value to future researchers.
