Germany

Title: Einkommens-und Verbrauchsstichprobe (EVS)

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIC DEFINITIONS

1. Background

Further information is available from Statistisches Bundesamt of 2 weigstelle Bonn Gruppe 1X C Graurheindorfer str. 198, 53117 Bonn, phone: 49 1888 644 8842, fax: 49 1888 644 8970, e-mail: thomas.krebs@destatis.de.
Data have been collected by household survey since 1962.

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

Lesser importance is attached to:

• 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
• households of other foreigners in the country

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
• armed forces residing in private housing outside military base

Units: Dwelling units are not used in the sample selection.

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

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

Data are recorded for the income unit which is characterised by: ¹

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

Unit members: ² Visitors (not usual residents) temporarily living in the dwelling are not included as unit members. 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 reference person is used in this survey and is characterised by:

• main income earner

3. Reference periods

The time period to which income and/or expenditure statistics refer when released/published is from 01/98 to 12/98. These data are collected in the period from 01/98 to 12/98. This survey is conducted 5-yearly. The statistics are published 5-yearly.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

4. Sample design

The Primary, Secondary and Ultimate Sampling Units are none, none and household respectively.

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

• administrative districts

Households/Consumption Unit, Income Unit, Family Unit were stratified using the following criteria:

• income class
• social class of the head
• household types (structure)

The sampling frames for the Primary Sampling Unit (PSU) and Ultimate Sampling Unit (USU) were the master sample of households and the master sample of households respectively. Primary Sampling Units (PSU) were selected using quota sampling and Ultimate Sampling Units (USU) were selected using quota sampling. The sample size was 74000 households or other units. The overall response rate for the survey was 84 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 divided into 4 representative sub-samples. A smaller set of reporting units is selected from which information on specific issues is gathered or more detailed questions are asked. ³

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. Exceptions are receipts from properties (interest incomes, dividends). 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
• cash bonuses and gratuities
• commissions and tips
• remuneration for time not worked, e.g. leave pay
• termination and redundancy payments
• employee social security contributions
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• interest received
• dividends
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• royalties
• 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
• medical reimbursements
• other social insurance benefits

The following receipts are collected but not separately:

• 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
• 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

The following receipts are not collected:

• employer social security contributions
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• goods produced for barter
• services produced for barter
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house) , gross of expenses
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling
• food subsidies
• 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
• 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 classified as income from paid employment:

• wages and salaries
• cash bonuses and gratuities
• commissions and tips
• remuneration for time not worked, e.g. leave pay
• termination and redundancy payments
• 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

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

• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise

The following receipts are classified as property income:

• interest received
• dividends
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• royalties

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

• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• unemployment benefits

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

• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• old age benefits
• other pensions
• family-related allowances
• sickness benefits
• invalidity benefits
• education-related allowances
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• medical reimbursements
• other social insurance benefits
• 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

The following receipts are collected using the last 3 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
• 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
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , gross of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house) , gross of expenses
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• royalties
• 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
• medical reimbursements
• other social insurance benefits
• 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

Income data were collected separately for each person receiving income. Components of income for an individual were collected directly from each individual or from one person reporting for all individuals. Negative values (business losses) were excluded when computing self-employment income.⁴

6. Expenditure data

Data collection method:
Diaries are used to collect expenditure data and are maintained for 3 months .

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)
• all components of private consumption

Interviews are not used to collect expenditure data.

Classification: A national classification is used for classifying expenditure and has 191 separate categories at the finest level. The classification is consistent with COICOP at the Class (4 digit) level.

7. Other Data Collection Issues

The following other topics are covered:

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

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

Non-response: Non-response households (refusals and non-contacts) are substituted.

Reporting errors are reduced using the following measures:

• careful instrument design
• adequate cues or props for prompting
• quality control

DATA PROCESSING, ANALYSIS AND DISSEMINATION

Answers are not pre-coded on data collection forms, but are coded by field supervisors.

Extreme values are amended. In-kind receipts and consumption of own production are included in the estimates. In-kind receipts are valued using: the respondent's estimate. Consumption of own production is valued using: the respondent's estimate.

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 .⁶ Supplementary sources are not used to adjust estimates for under- or over-reporting. income groups , hh with a monthly net income of 17895 euro (35.000 DM) and more are excluded from data analysis.

Weighting:
Weighting factors are used to adjust for:

• sampling
• non-response

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 only.

The following classifications are used for tabulation and analysis of income statistics:⁷

• sex of reference person or head of household
• other characteristic of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• absolute income groups
• household size
• structure of household
• other classification, regional areas(Bundestander, geographical regions)

The following classifications are used for tabulation and analysis of expenditure statistics:⁷

• age of reference person or head of household
• other characteristic of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• absolute income groups
• expenditure percentiles
• expenditure classes in monetary terms
• household size
• structure of household
• other classification, regional areas(Bundestander, geographical regions)

Documentation and Dissemination:
Published survey reports: Fachserie 15, heft 1-7-sondeheft 1, 99/02
Published methodological information: Fachserie 15, heft 7 Aufgabe, Methode und Durchführung der EVS 1998, 2002

Additional statistics (or special tables on request) are available for public use, free of charge (until 15 pages of data) and with charges (for 15 pages and more).

Separate tables are published for the following special population groups:

• households with wages/salaries as main source of income
• low income households
• for pensionars, job less people