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Hitches with harmonisation of EU-SILC

19. 10. 2010

Mgr. Veronika Sequensová,

Czech Statistical Office

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What is EU-SILC?

• European Union – Statistics on Income and Living Conditions

• EU member states, Iceland and Norway• In Czech republic from 2005 • Annual data on income distribution and social

inclusion • Cross-sectional data• Longitudinal data

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Legal framework of EU-SILC

• EU-SILC is based on a common framework:• harmonised list of target variables• common guidelines• common concepts • using the same classifications of

occupation and education• Revision of legal framework of EU-SILC

planned 2011

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Planned revision of EU-SILC

• Object of the revision is the survey as a whole• target variables (number, usefulness,

definitions, guidelines)• longitudinal x panel type of survey• modules • further harmonisation - common

questionnaire? → closely related to input and output

harmonisation

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Input harmonisation• All steps of producing

statistical results are consistently standardized

• Harmonisation of wording and order of• questions• answers

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Input harmonisation

• Theme for the planned review:• common questionnaire • harmonised wording of questions and

answers at least in non-income variables

→ Advantages:• Better comparability among countries• Easier for data users

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Input harmonisation

→ Disadvantages:• different legal system and system of social

benefits in particular countries – need of special questions

• cultural and social differences among countries

• some questions may be useless in specific conditions of some countries (CZ: pension from individual private plans)

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Output harmonisation

• Harmonisation where the activities are limited to standardizing the statistical results

• Harmonisation of the product of whole process of creating datasets

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Output harmonisation

• EU-SILC ex-ante output harmonisation

(just before the interviewing itself)

→ Advantages:• It leaves space for national specifics –

exact wording and order of questions is not given

• Gives more freedom to solve special problems with obligatory variables

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Output harmonisation

→ Disadvantages:• problems with comparability• problem with administrative sources –

discrepancies between this data and data from interviewing

→ underestimation in data from interviews

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Social income: comparison with administrative sources

(Ministry of Labour and Social Affair; in million CZK)

EU-SILC 2008 Administrative source Ratio* Total social income 362 858 375 581 96.6 Sickness benefits PY120G 13 997 31 882 43.9 Pensions (all) 304 135 305 536 99.5 Unemployment benefits PY090G 5 724 7 115 80.4 Child benefits 5 966 6 232 95.7 Parental allowances 26 778 28 294 94.6 Housing allowances HY070G 1 401 1 619 86.5

* (EU-SILC/Administrative source)*100

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Income: comparison with national accounts

(in million CZK)

EU-SILC 2008 National Accounts* Ratio** Income of employees 1 020 410 1 231 995 82.8 Income of self-employed 248 775 295 727 84.1 Total gross income 1 694 852 1 875 429*** 90.4 Total net income 1 448 383 1 784 166*** 81.4

* Preliminary results **(EU-SILC/National Accounts)*100 ***Excluding imputed rent

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Other hitches with harmonisation in data producing process

• CAPI x PAPI type of interview• converting one type to another if both are

carried out simultaneously• CAPI - controled in the real time• PAPI - before processing are data

controled only by the interviewer and the guarantee

→ may cause further discrepancies among the data

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Conclusion

• Harmonisation: • absolutely necessary for maximal

comparability of data from different countries

• important condition for making outputs on EU as a whole

• Need of a space for member states and their national (cultural and → social) specifics