Barbados

Title: Report on Household Budget Survey 1998/1999

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIC DEFINITIONS

1. Background

Further information is available from Barbados Statistical Service of 3rd floor, NIS building, Fairchild Street, phone: 246 427-7396, fax: 246 435-2198, e-mail: barstats@caribsurf.com.

2. Purpose and coverage

The following purposes are considered to be very important or of some importance:

• to obtain weights for consumer price index
• to estimate household expenditure for national accounts
• to study the general structure of household incomes/expenditures

Lesser importance is attached to:

• to study income/expenditure patterns of disadvantaged groups, including pensioner households, single parent households, etc
• to study income/expenditure disparities among socio-economic groups
• to study consumer behaviour among socio-economic groups
• for general poverty and/or income distribution studies
• to study effects on income and expenditure of policy changes, especially tax changes
• for market research purposes

Geographic coverage: National without any specific geographic areas excluded.

Population coverage:
The following types of household are included in the data collection:

• one person private households
• private households with more than one person
• households of other foreigners in the country
• armed forces residing in private housing outside military base

The following types of household are excluded in the data collection:

• those in collective housing (such as long term hospitals, prisons, monasteries, military quarters)
• non-resident households of nationals (households of nationals located abroad)
• diplomatic households in the country
• armed forces residing in private housing within military base
• nomadic and other households difficult to reach: vagrants

Units:
Dwelling units are used in the sample selection and are characterised by:

• single structure - detached housing unit
• single unit in a structure containing more than one housing unit

Data are recorded for the household unit which is characterised by:

• one person units
• two or more people living together:
  • sharing a single dwelling or compound
  • sharing meals
  • sharing a common budget for (at least) food and housing expenditures
  • pooling their income to some extent

Unit members: ¹ Usual residents temporarily living away from the dwelling are included, if away continuously for less than 6 months. Domestic staff living in same dwelling/compound are included in the unit. Renters living in same dwelling/compound are not included in the unit. Boarders living in same dwelling/compound are not included in the unit.

Head of unit:
The concept of head of household/other unit is used in this survey and is characterised by:

• acknowledged as such by other household/unit members

3. Reference periods

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

4. Sample design

The Primary, Secondary and Ultimate Sampling Units are enumeration area/district, household and individual respectively.

Stratification:
Areas/districts were stratified using the following criteria:

• geographical regions

The sampling frames for the Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) and Ultimate Sampling Unit (USU) were the list of Census enumeration areas and a separate listing exercise respectively. Primary Sampling Units (PSU) were selected using probability proportional to size and Ultimate Sampling Units (USU) were selected using probability proportional to size. The overall response rate for the survey was 85 percent. Errors/biases were minimized by using an updated sampling frame.

Enumeration procedure: Enumeration uses a single round survey design in which each reporting unit is enumerated only once. The sample is not divided into representative sub-samples. No action is taken to select a smaller set of reporting units for more detailed questioning.

A two (2) Stage Sample Design is used In stage 1, 40 Enumeration Districts (ED) were selected. In stage 2, within each ED approximately 15 Households were enumerated..

DATA COLLECTION, CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS

5. Income data

Income data are collected. Receipts have to be regular and recurring to be considered as income. Income excludes receipts resulting from the sale or reduction of assets and/or from incurring liabilities. Income excludes receipts that are not currently available to the unit.

The following receipts are collected separately:

• wages and salaries
• unemployment benefits

The following receipts are collected but not separately:

• cash bonuses and gratuities
• commissions and tips
• termination and redundancy payments
• employer social security contributions
• employee social security contributions
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: housing
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: meals
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: car/transportation
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: goods or services produced by employer
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• old age benefits
• other pensions
• family-related allowances
• sickness benefits
• invalidity benefits
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• subsidized government dwelling
• other social insurance benefits
• other social assistance benefits
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships
• regular inter-household transfers received from: family, e.g. alimony, child/parental support

The following receipts are not collected:

• remuneration for time not worked, e.g. leave pay , excluded due to measurement problems
• goods produced for barter , excluded due to measurement problems
• services produced for barter , excluded due to measurement problems
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise , excluded due to measurement problems
• royalties , excluded due to measurement problems
• education-related allowances
• free government dwelling
• food subsidies
• medical reimbursements
• social transfers in kind: medical services , excluded due to measurement problems

The following receipts are classified as income from paid employment:

• wages and salaries
• cash bonuses and gratuities
• commissions and tips
• termination and redundancy payments
• employer social security contributions
• employee social security contributions
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: housing
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: meals
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: car/transportation
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: goods or services produced by employer
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• housing allowances

The following receipts are classified as income from self-employment:

• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises

The following receipts are classified as property income:

• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)

The following receipts are classified as employment-related transfer income:

• unemployment benefits

The following receipts are classified as transfer income but not employment-related:

• subsidized government dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: family, e.g. alimony, child/parental support

The following receipts are classified as other employment-related income:

• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• old age benefits
• other pensions
• family-related allowances
• sickness benefits
• invalidity benefits
• survivors benefits
• other social insurance benefits
• other social assistance benefits

The following receipts are classified as other income but not employment-related:

• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• interest received
• dividends
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships

The following receipts are excluded due to measurement problems:

• remuneration for time not worked, e.g. leave pay
• goods produced for barter
• services produced for barter
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• royalties
• social transfers in kind: medical services

The following receipts are collected using the last 12 months as the reference period:

• wages and salaries
• cash bonuses and gratuities
• commissions and tips
• remuneration for time not worked, e.g. leave pay
• termination and redundancy payments
• employer social security contributions
• employee social security contributions
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: housing
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: meals
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: car/transportation
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: goods or services produced by employer
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• old age benefits
• other pensions
• unemployment benefits
• family-related allowances
• sickness benefits
• invalidity benefits
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• subsidized government dwelling
• other social insurance benefits
• other social assistance benefits
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships
• regular inter-household transfers received from: family, e.g. alimony, child/parental support

Income data were collected separately for each person receiving income. Components of income for an individual were collected directly from the individual. Negative values (business losses) were included when computing self-employment income.

6. Expenditure data

Data collection method:

Diaries are not used to collect expenditure data.

Interviews are used to collect expenditure data with the respondent completing the interview by a mix of recall and using documentation.

Data for the following expenditure items are collected by referring:

• to expenditures in last one month:
  • food
  • other household non-durable goods
  • other personal non-durable goods

• to expenditures in last 12 months:
  • clothing, footwear
  • housing
  • other durable goods
  • households services
  • personal services
  • other items: education, miscellaneous

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Household consumption expenditure':

• non-durable goods purchased
• income in-kind receipts of goods
• income in-kind receipts of services
• in-kind goods received from other households
• in-kind services received from other households
• social transfers in-kind of goods and services from government and non-profit institutions serving households
• licences and fees (e.g. driver's licence, hunting licence, vehicle registration)
• housing maintenance, minor repairs
• valuables

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Actual Household consumption':

• durable goods purchased (except housing)
• purchase price of owner-occupied housing
• services of owner-occupied housing
• own produced non-durable goods
• own-produced durable goods
• own-produced services
• services from durables owned (except housing)

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Non-consumption household expenditure':

• non-life insurance premiums (e.g. vehicle, housing, other property, medical)
• life insurance premiums
• compulsory transfers to governments (e.g. contributions to government old age and disability insurance program, taxes)

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Non-household expenditure':

• regular cash payments to others outside the household
• non-regular cash payments to others outside the household
• purchase of gifts of goods and services given to others outside the household

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Investment/liability expenditure':

• interest payments (excluding mortgage interest payments)

The following types of expenditure items are excluded due to measurement problems:

• mortgage repayments, including interest
• major repairs, conversions and extensions to owner-occupied housing
• financial services (including fees for financial advice, brokerage fees)
• gambling expenditure
• second hand goods purchased
• expenditure abroad
• investment-related expenditures (e.g. purchase of shares/stocks)
• occupational expenditures
• other business-related expenditures

The following types of expenditure items are excluded for other reasons:

• out of pocket health expenditure
• out of pocket education expenditures
• out of pocket transport expenditures

The following types of expenditure items are collected on an 'acquisitions' basis:

• non-durable goods purchased
• income in-kind receipts of goods
• income in-kind receipts of services
• in-kind goods received from other households
• in-kind services received from other households
• social transfers in-kind of goods and services from government and non-profit institutions serving households
• non-life insurance premiums (e.g. vehicle, housing, other property, medical)
• life insurance premiums
• licences and fees (e.g. driver's licence, hunting licence, vehicle registration)
• housing maintenance, minor repairs
• valuables
• compulsory transfers to governments (e.g. contributions to government old age and disability insurance program, taxes)

The following types of expenditure items are collected on a 'use' basis:

• durable goods purchased (except housing)
• purchase price of owner-occupied housing
• services of owner-occupied housing
• own produced non-durable goods
• own-produced durable goods
• own-produced services
• services from durables owned (except housing)

The following types of expenditure items are collected on a 'payments' basis:

• interest payments (excluding mortgage interest payments)
• regular cash payments to others outside the household
• non-regular cash payments to others outside the household
• purchase of gifts of goods and services given to others outside the household

7. Other Data Collection Issues

The following other topics are covered:

• housing characteristics

Households are not requested to indicate whether durable goods are new or second-hand when their acquisition is recorded.

Non-response: There is no substitution for non-response, whether by non-contact or by refusal.

DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINATION

Answers are pre-coded on data collection forms to the extent possible.

Extreme values are retained without change. In-kind receipts and consumption of own production are included in the estimates. In-kind receipts are valued using: the imputed in office processing using market prices. Consumption of own production is valued using: the imputed in office processing using market prices.

Treatment of owner-occupied housing: Values of owner-occupied housing are included in the total income/expenditure estimates and are valued using the current market value.

The following information is used in this valuation:

• recent sales data from local real estate agents

Treatment of selected groups/values in analysis: No households/units are excluded from analysis because of incomplete response. Missing values are imputed only on some occasions . Etnic groups are excluded from data analysis.

Weighting:
No information was provided on sample weighting.

Sampling errors: Sampling errors are not computed.

Tabulation and Analysis: Statistics are presented showing averages per year and statistics are analysed and tabulated for households and for individuals separately.

Documentation and Dissemination:
Published survey reports: report on household Budget Survey 98/99 88/89, June1994, june 2001
Published methodological information: report on Household Budget Survey 98/99 88/89, June 1994, june 2001

Additional statistics (or special tables on request) are not available for public use. Separate tables are published for households with wages/salaries as main source of income. Files of unidentifiable unit data are not available (or available on request) for public use.