Hi All,

I'm trying to reshape a dataset, and I'm having two problems that I can't solve.

What I'm trying to do is: the dataset has variable names in wide shape (different variable names in different columns), and year in long shape (different year in one column called "Year"). I'm trying to change it to variable name in long shape (different variable name [trying to use original var labels instead of names here] in one column with the column name being "Var_Name"), and year in wide shape (each column represent one year, e.g., Year2000, Year2001, ...Year2017).

Problem 1: Use var labels in stead of var names as the values of newly generated variable (j).
Problem described in details: the following code reshapes the variable names from wide to long, the newly generated variable is "Variable_Name".
Code:
reshape long stub, i(CountryCode Year) j(Variable_Name) string
rename stub Variable_value
But since the original variable names are ambiguous (can't make it clearer b/c there's too much information), but the labels are clear. I'm wondering how do I use the var labels instead of var names as the values of the new variable (j) when reshaping the data?

Problem 2: reshape long to wide with missing numeric values.
Problem described in details: I'm using the following code to reshape the Year from long to wide:
Code:
reshape wide Year, i(CountryCode Variable_Name) j(Variable_value)
However, since there's missing values in "Variable_value", I'm getting the following error:
Code:
variable Variable_value contains missing values
I can't figure out how to solve this.

The data I'm using:
Code:
* Example generated by -dataex-. To install: ssc install dataex
clear
input str3 CountryCode str30 Country int Year float(stubambiguous_var1 stubambiguous_var2 stubambiguous_var3)
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2000  7489  7468  9824
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2001  6669  4295 13107
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2002  5366 12687 11407
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2003  4285  4369  8792
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2004 12690  7631  9034
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2005  7508 13717 10391
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2006  4711  4654 11511
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2007  7234  8194  8962
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2008  9551 11318 13808
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2009 12760  8315 13238
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2010  6047 10718  5986
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2011 12928  8193 13846
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2012  9845  8523 12123
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2013  7698 11526 12936
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2014 12507 10332  4246
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2015  7914  5720  6829
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2016  5196  8756  6170
"AFG" "Afghanistan"    2017 11543  7905 13466
"ALB" "Albania"        2000 10950 10402  5270
"ALB" "Albania"        2001 10866  8579  9213
"ALB" "Albania"        2002 13320  9905  4952
"ALB" "Albania"        2003  8549  5555 11288
"ALB" "Albania"        2004  4674  6598  5974
"ALB" "Albania"        2005  7380 13688 12691
"ALB" "Albania"        2006 13749 12553  4879
"ALB" "Albania"        2007 11265  9127 12383
"ALB" "Albania"        2008  4454 11081  8012
"ALB" "Albania"        2009 11460  6842  9683
"ALB" "Albania"        2010  8961 13705  8829
"ALB" "Albania"        2011 11167  9137  9567
"ALB" "Albania"        2012 12598  7803 11546
"ALB" "Albania"        2013  5340 13622  5881
"ALB" "Albania"        2014  8884 11584  7810
"ALB" "Albania"        2015 12713  6591  5268
"ALB" "Albania"        2016 11665  6424  6318
"ALB" "Albania"        2017  6512  4610  5260
"DZA" "Algeria"        2000     .     .     .
"DZA" "Algeria"        2001     .     .     .
"DZA" "Algeria"        2002     .     .     .
"DZA" "Algeria"        2003  5663 12353 10805
"DZA" "Algeria"        2004 11438  9852 12383
"DZA" "Algeria"        2005 13806 13496  8481
"DZA" "Algeria"        2006 11296 11525 12374
"DZA" "Algeria"        2007 13011  9409  6937
"DZA" "Algeria"        2008  6643  7828 11714
"DZA" "Algeria"        2009 12857 12909 12640
"DZA" "Algeria"        2010 12822  5343 13649
"DZA" "Algeria"        2011 11490 12263  9932
"DZA" "Algeria"        2012 13197  8036 12594
"DZA" "Algeria"        2013 10935 13838  5681
"DZA" "Algeria"        2014  6154  9081 13000
"DZA" "Algeria"        2015 12286  8851  6894
"DZA" "Algeria"        2016     .     .     .
"DZA" "Algeria"        2017     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2000     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2001     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2002     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2003     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2004     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2005     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2006     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2007     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2008     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2009     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2010     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2011     .     .     .
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2012  4442 12845  4591
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2013 12631  4930 10624
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2014  7526  7978  5062
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2015 11721 10717  9134
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2016  9861  7982  9302
"ASM" "American Samoa" 2017     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2000     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2001     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2002     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2003     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2004     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2005     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2006     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2007     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2008     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2009     .     .     .
"AND" "Andorra"        2010  7228 12982 13024
"AND" "Andorra"        2011  5729 13088  4567
"AND" "Andorra"        2012 12054 11220 10788
"AND" "Andorra"        2013  7060 13933  4419
"AND" "Andorra"        2014  6191 13884 13545
"AND" "Andorra"        2015 11248 10039  7274
"AND" "Andorra"        2016 10965  4529  9527
"AND" "Andorra"        2017     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2000     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2001     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2002     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2003     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2004     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2005     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2006     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2007     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2008     .     .     .
"AGO" "Angola"         2009     .     .     .
end

label var stubambiguous_var1 "clear labels"
label var stubambiguous_var2 "something"
label var stubambiguous_var3 "else"

The results I have now:
Code:
* Example generated by -dataex-. To install: ssc install dataex
clear
input str3 CountryCode int Year str14 Variable_Name str30 Country float Variable_value
"ABW" 2000 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2000 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2000 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2001 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2001 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2001 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2002 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2002 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2002 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2003 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2003 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2003 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2004 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2004 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2004 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2005 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2005 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2005 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2006 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2006 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2006 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2007 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2007 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2007 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2008 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2008 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2008 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2009 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"       11390
"ABW" 2009 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"        7384
"ABW" 2009 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2010 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"        5874
"ABW" 2010 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"       10559
"ABW" 2010 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2011 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"        7146
"ABW" 2011 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"        4827
"ABW" 2011 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2012 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"        5375
"ABW" 2012 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"       11594
"ABW" 2012 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"        8640
"ABW" 2013 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"       10538
"ABW" 2013 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"        4027
"ABW" 2013 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"       11929
"ABW" 2014 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"        6701
"ABW" 2014 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"       13281
"ABW" 2014 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"       13625
"ABW" 2015 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"       12999
"ABW" 2015 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"       11963
"ABW" 2015 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"        4200
"ABW" 2016 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2016 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2016 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2017 "ambiguous_var1" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2017 "ambiguous_var2" "Aruba"           .
"ABW" 2017 "ambiguous_var3" "Aruba"           .
"AFG" 2000 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  7489
"AFG" 2000 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  7468
"AFG" 2000 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  9824
"AFG" 2001 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  6669
"AFG" 2001 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  4295
"AFG" 2001 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 13107
"AFG" 2002 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  5366
"AFG" 2002 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 12687
"AFG" 2002 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 11407
"AFG" 2003 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  4285
"AFG" 2003 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  4369
"AFG" 2003 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  8792
"AFG" 2004 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan" 12690
"AFG" 2004 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  7631
"AFG" 2004 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  9034
"AFG" 2005 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  7508
"AFG" 2005 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 13717
"AFG" 2005 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 10391
"AFG" 2006 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  4711
"AFG" 2006 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  4654
"AFG" 2006 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 11511
"AFG" 2007 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  7234
"AFG" 2007 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  8194
"AFG" 2007 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  8962
"AFG" 2008 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  9551
"AFG" 2008 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 11318
"AFG" 2008 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 13808
"AFG" 2009 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan" 12760
"AFG" 2009 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  8315
"AFG" 2009 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 13238
"AFG" 2010 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  6047
"AFG" 2010 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 10718
"AFG" 2010 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  5986
"AFG" 2011 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan" 12928
"AFG" 2011 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  8193
"AFG" 2011 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 13846
"AFG" 2012 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  9845
"AFG" 2012 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan"  8523
"AFG" 2012 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 12123
"AFG" 2013 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  7698
"AFG" 2013 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 11526
"AFG" 2013 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan" 12936
"AFG" 2014 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan" 12507
"AFG" 2014 "ambiguous_var2" "Afghanistan" 10332
"AFG" 2014 "ambiguous_var3" "Afghanistan"  4246
"AFG" 2015 "ambiguous_var1" "Afghanistan"  7914
end
Any help is appreciated!

Many thanks,
Craig