Norway

Title: The Income Distribution Survey 2000

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIC DEFINITIONS

1. Background

Further information is available from Statistics Norway, e-mail: jep@ssb.no.
Data have been collected by household survey since 1958. ¹

2. Purpose and coverage

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

• 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
• for general poverty and/or income distribution studies
• to study effects on income and expenditure of policy changes, especially tax changes

Lesser importance is attached to:

• to study consumer behaviour among socio-economic groups
• for market research purposes

Geographic coverage: National with the following geographic areas excluded: residents of Spitsbergen .

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

• one person private households
• 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

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)

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 single dwelling or compound
  • sharing meals

Unit members: Usual residents temporarily living away from the dwelling are included, if away continuously for less than 6 months. Visitors (not usual residents) temporarily living in the dwelling are not included as unit members. 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:

• main income earner

3. Reference periods

The time period to which income and/or expenditure statistics refer when released/published is from 01/00 to 12/00. These data are collected in the period from 10/00 to 10/01. This survey is conducted annually. The statistics are published annually.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

4. Sample design

The Primary, Secondary and Ultimate Sampling Units are enumeration area/district, household 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 a set of administrative registers (or combination of such registers) and a set of administrative registers (or combination of such registers) respectively. Primary Sampling Units (PSU) were selected using probability proportional to size. The sample size was 13000 households or other units and 13000 interviews. ² The overall response rate for the survey was 72 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.

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 includes receipts resulting from the sale or reduction of assets and/or from incurring liabilities are included in income. Income excludes receipts that are not currently available to the unit.

The following receipts are collected separately:

• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: car/transportation
• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• old age benefits
• other pensions
• unemployment benefits
• family-related allowances
• invalidity benefits
• education-related allowances
• housing allowances
• survivors benefits
• other social assistance benefits

The following receipts are collected but not 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
• 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: goods or services produced by employer
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• royalties
• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• sickness benefits
• other social insurance benefits
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: cash, e.g. scholarships
• 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

The following receipts are not collected:

• employer social security contributions
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for barter
• services produced for barter
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling
• food subsidies
• medical reimbursements
• regular support received from non-profit institutions serving households: goods and 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 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
• employee income in-kind provided free or subsidized: other goods or services
• sickness benefits

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

• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• royalties

The following receipts are classified as property income:

• interest received
• dividends
• 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:

• regular pensions/annuities from schemes to which employee does not contribute
• retirement pensions from compulsory social security schemes
• old age benefits
• unemployment benefits
• invalidity benefits
• survivors benefits

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

• other pensions
• family-related allowances
• education-related allowances
• housing allowances
• 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: 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

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
• 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)
• goods produced for own consumption
• services produced for own consumption
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• 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
• 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: 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

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

6. Expenditure data

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
• savings
• indebtedness

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 not pre-coded on data collection forms, but are coded by not relevant. All income data collected from registers .

The responses are edited by the following: ⁴

• interviewers, data collectors
• office staff

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

Treatment of owner-occupied housing: Values of owner-occupied housing are not included in the total income/expenditure estimates.

Treatment of selected groups/values in analysis: No households/units are excluded from analysis because of incomplete response. Missing values are by not relevant, register data. Supplementary sources are used to adjust estimates for under- or over-reporting. No groups are excluded from data analysis.

Weighting:
Weighting factors are used to adjust for:

• sampling
• bench-marking

Sampling errors: Sampling errors are computed for major aggregates and these sampling errors are published.

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

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
• other characteristic of reference person or head of household, education, socio-economic status, martial status.
• income percentiles, deciles, quartiles
• absolute income groups
• principal source of household income
• household size
• structure of household
• other characteristic of household, no. of economical actives

Documentation and Dissemination:
Published survey reports: Income and Property Statistics for Households 1997/1999, Jan. 2000
Published methodological information: Income and Property Statistics for Households 2000, May ,2002

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

Separate tables are published for the following special population groups:

• low income households
• pensioners,immigrants