Re: st: foreach program

[n j cox <n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk>]

The report "not working" really is not at all transparent. From your 
posting, I infer anything from "Stata complained" through "results are 
all missing" to "results look implausible".

This code would be better as a

forval i = 1/`r(max)' {

loop. I can't see a bug, but creating variables to hold constants
and then -drop-ping them is not at all necessary.

Here's a second try:

egen group=group(fip race sex)
su group, meanonly

tempname itot ptot
forval i = 1/`r(max)' {
	su perwt if inrange(age,15,19) & group==`i' & gqtyped==200, ///  		 
meanonly
	scalar `itot' = r(sum) 	
	su perwt if inrange(age,15,19) & group==`i', meanonly
	scalar `ptot' = r(sum)
	replace ir_level = `itot' if age==15 & group==`i'
	replace pop_level = `ptot' if age==15 & group==`i'		
	replace ir = `itot'/`ptot' if age==15 & group==`i'
}

This assumes that your variables being -replace-d exist before
the loop is entered. This probably misses your question, which may hinge
on the substantive logic, but you might pick up some Stata tips anyway.

Nick
n.j.cox@durham.ac.uk

Scott Cunningham

I wrote a foreach loop to calculate incarceration rates that were
specific to race-age-sex-state for 1980, but it appears not to have
worked.  I'm unable to see why this is not working.  Can anyone shed
some light on why this program would not have calculated
incarceration rates?  The dataset is the 1980 US Census (longform
survey, aka "5% sample").  The data is observations on persons, but
uses a sampling method that requires summing up the person weights
("perwt") to find an estimate of the population of interest.
Individuals were asked about housing units, and a person was
classified as living in a "group quarter" if they lived in a dwelling
unit that had at least 5 unrelated persons under the same roof.
Surveys also report the kind of group quarter.  In 1980, information
in the variable "gqtyped" told whether the person lived in a
correctional facility - gqtyped=200 means the person lives in a
correctional facility.  I attempted to create, in the following loop,
an incarceration rate for the 15-19 year old age cohort, according to
the demographics noted in the grouping fip (Census variable
indicating the United States state), race (black and white only in
this sample) and sex.



egen group=group(fip race sex)
su group, meanonly

foreach i of num 1/`r(max)' {
		gen i=perwt if age>=15 & age<=19 & group==`i' & gqtyped==200
		gen p=perwt if age>=15 & age<=19 & group==`i'
		egen itot=sum(i)
		egen ptot=sum(p)
		replace ir_level=itot if age==15 & group==`i'
		replace pop_level=ptot if age==15 & group==`i'		
		replace ir=itot/ptot if age==15 & group==`i'
		drop i p itot ptot
		}


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