SHARE is a multidisciplinary and cross-national panel database of micro data on health, socio-economic status and social and family networks of more than 45,000 individuals aged 50 or over. Eleven countries have contributed data to the 2004 SHARE baseline study. They are a balanced representation of the various regions in Europe, ranging from Scandinavia (Denmark and Sweden) through Central Europe (Austria, France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands) to the Mediterranean (Spain, Italy and Greece). Further data were collected in 2005-06 in Israel. Two ‘new’ EU member states – the Czech Republic and Poland – as well as Ireland joined SHARE in 2006 and participated in the second wave of data collection in 2006-07. The survey’s third wave, SHARELIFE, has collected detailed retrospective life-histories in fourteen countries in 2008-09. Hungary, Portugal, Estonia, and Luxemburg are scheduled to participate in the fourth wave in the years 2010-11.
SHARE is harmonized with the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA). Its scientific power is based on its panel design that grasps the dynamic character of the ageing process. SHARE’s multi-disciplinary approach delivers the full picture of the ageing process. Rigorous procedural guidelines and programs ensure an ex-ante harmonized cross-national design.
Data collected include health variables (e.g. self-reported health, health conditions, physical and cognitive functioning, health behaviour, use of health care facilities), bio-markers (e.g. grip strength, body-mass index, peak flow), psychological variables (e.g. psychological health, well-being, life satisfaction), economic variables (current work activity, job characteristics, opportunities to work past retirement age, sources and composition of current income, wealth and consumption, housing, education), and social support variables (e.g. assistance within families, transfers of income and assets, social networks, volunteer activities).
The SHARE data are distributed free of charge through the SHARE Research Data Center (www.share-project.org) which is physically located at CentERdata on the Tilburg University campus in the Netherlands.
