Azerbaijan

Title: Quarterly Household Budget Survey on constant basis (pilot survey since 2000)

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIC DEFINITIONS

1. Background

Further information is available from State Statistical Committee of AzerbaijanRepublic of Household Budget Survey and LSMS Department 136, Inshaatchilar ave, Baku-370136, Azerbaijan, phone: 99412 38 52 80, fax: 99412 38 24 42, e-mail: yashar@azstat.org.
Data have been collected by household survey since 2001.

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
• 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 with the following geographic areas excluded: areas in conflict¹ .

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

• one person private households
• private households with more than one person

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
• households of other foreigners in the country
• armed forces residing in private housing within military base
• armed forces residing in private housing outside military base

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
• multiple structures within a compound (e.g. huts)
• street address

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

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

• two or more people:
  • related:
    • by blood
    • by marriage

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

• two or more people:
  • living in the same household
  • sharing a single dwelling or compound
  • pooling their income to some extent

Data are recorded for the consumer unit, expenditure unit or spending unit which is characterised by:

• two or more people:
  • living in the same household
  • sharing a single dwelling or compound
  • sharing meals
  • sharing a common budget for (at least) food and housing expenditures

Unit members: Usual residents temporarily living away from the dwelling are not included as unit members. Visitors (not usual residents) temporarily living in the dwelling are included, if staying continuously for more than 1 days. Domestic staff living in same dwelling/compound are not 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
• recognized owner, or responsible for tenancy of dwelling
• responsible for financial maintenance of household/unit
• main income earner
• responsible for decisions on main expenditures
• oldest person

3. Reference periods

The time period to which income and/or expenditure statistics refer when released/published is from 01/02 to 12/02.² This survey is conducted continuously. The statistics are published quartely and annually. ²

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

4. Sample design

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

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

• geographical regions
• rural/urban
• administrative districts

The sampling frames for the Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) and Ultimate Sampling Unit (USU) were the list of Census enumeration areas and the master sample of households respectively. The sample size was 8736 households or other units and 8736 interviews. The overall response rate for the survey was 88 percent.

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.

For details, please see the attached document.

DATA COLLECTION, CONCEPTS, DEFINITIONS AND CLASSIFICATIONS

5. Income data

Income data are collected. Receipts do not 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:³

• 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
• goods produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• goods produced for barter , net of inputs
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house) , net of expenses
• 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
• education-related allowances
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• food subsidies
• medical reimbursements
• other social insurance benefits
• other social assistance benefits
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: goods and services
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: free dwelling
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: subsidized dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: family, e.g. alimony, child/parental support
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular inheritances or trusts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular cash gifts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular in-kind gifts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: free dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: subsidized dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular free services
• social transfers in kind: medical services
• social transfers in kind: public education
• social transfers in kind: transport subsidies
• social transfers in kind: cultural and recreational services
• social transfers in kind: others

The following receipts are not collected:³

• 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
• services produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• services produced for barter
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• interest received
• dividends
• royalties
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling

The following receipts are collected using the last 3 months as the reference period:

• goods produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• goods produced for barter , net of inputs
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house) , net of expenses
• 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
• education-related allowances
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• food subsidies
• medical reimbursements
• other social insurance benefits
• other social assistance benefits
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: goods and services
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: free dwelling
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: subsidized dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: family, e.g. alimony, child/parental support
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular inheritances or trusts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular cash gifts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular in-kind gifts
• regular inter-household transfers received from: free dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: subsidized dwelling
• regular inter-household transfers received from: regular free services
• social transfers in kind: medical services
• social transfers in kind: public education
• social transfers in kind: transport subsidies
• social transfers in kind: cultural and recreational services
• social transfers in kind: others

The reference period for:

• 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

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 excluded when computing self-employment income.

6. Expenditure data

Data collection method:
Diaries are used to collect expenditure data and are maintained for two weeks.

Diaries are used to collect expenditure on the following items:

• food
• alcohol, tobacco
• other household non-durables (such as newspapers, batteries)
• clothing, footwear
• other personal non-durables (such as perfumes)
• household services (such as plumber)
• personal services (such as driving lessons, haircuts)

Interviews are used to collect expenditure data with the respondent completing the interview by recall only.

Data for the following expenditure items are collected by referring:

• to expenditures in last one month:
  • food

• to expenditures in last 3 months:
  • other household non-durable goods
  • clothing, footwear
  • other personal non-durable goods
  • housing
  • other durable goods
  • households services
  • personal services

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

• non-durable goods purchased
• durable goods purchased (except housing)
• purchase price of owner-occupied housing
• mortgage repayments, including interest
• services of owner-occupied housing
• major repairs, conversions and extensions to owner-occupied housing
• income in-kind receipts of goods
• income in-kind receipts of services
• own produced non-durable goods
• own-produced durable goods
• own-produced services
• services from durables owned (except housing)
• 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
• interest payments (excluding mortgage interest payments)
• financial services (including fees for financial advice, brokerage fees)
• 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)
• gambling expenditure
• out of pocket health expenditure
• out of pocket education expenditures
• out of pocket transport expenditures
• housing maintenance, minor repairs
• 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
• second hand goods purchased
• expenditure abroad
• compulsory transfers to governments (e.g. contributions to government old age and disability insurance program, taxes)
• investment-related expenditures (e.g. purchase of shares/stocks)
• occupational expenditures
• other business-related expenditures

Classification: COICOP is used for classifying expenditure and has 13 separate categories at the finest level.

7. Other Data Collection Issues

The following other topics are covered:

• demographic characteristics
• education attainment of members
• employment status of members
• occupation of members
• ownership of selected durable goods
• housing characteristics
• savings
• indebtedness

Households are 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.

Reporting errors are reduced using the following measures:

• careful instrument design
• quality control

DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINATION

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

Extreme values are deleted. In-kind receipts are included in the estimates, but consumption of own production is not. In-kind receipts are 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 rental equivalent net of housing costs usually paid by owners.

The following information is used in this valuation:

• imputed based on housing and rent data

Treatment of selected groups/values in analysis: Some households/units are excluded from analysis because of incomplete response. Missing values are imputed only on some occasions . Supplementary sources are not used to adjust estimates for under- or over-reporting. No groups are excluded from data analysis.

Weighting:
Weighting factors are used to adjust for:

• non-response
• bench-marking

Sampling errors: Sampling errors are computed for major aggregates and these sampling errors are available on request.

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

The following classifications are used for tabulation and analysis of income statistics:

• age of reference person or head of household
• sex of reference person or head of household
• occupation of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• principal source of household income
• expenditure percentiles
• expenditure classes in monetary terms
• household size

The following classifications are used for tabulation and analysis of expenditure statistics:

• age of reference person or head of household
• sex of reference person or head of household
• occupation of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• principal source of household income
• expenditure percentiles
• expenditure classes in monetary terms
• household size

Documentation and Dissemination:
Published survey reports: main Results of Household Budget Survey in 2001, 24 april 2002
Published methodological information: main Results of Household Budget Survey in 2001

Additional statistics (or special tables on request) are available for public use, with charges.

Separate tables are published for the following special population groups:

• households with wages/salaries as main source of income
• low income households