Micro- and Macrodata: a Comparison of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey with Financial Accounts in Austria

Abstract

This article compares the results of Austria’s Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) on savings deposits and estimates on total financial assets with administrative records from the national accounts for the household sector. The microdata that are newly generated through the HFCS and the detailed (internally available) breakdown of savings deposits in the existing macrodata (financial accounts) lend themselves to a more in-depth analysis of the similarities and differences in these two sources. Comparing the data shows that the HFCSbased aggregate estimates are lower than the financial accounts data, which is in line with evidence from the literature. The article also shows, however, that the survey adequately captures the underlying patterns at the microlevel in terms of the overall financial portfolio allocation and the distribution of savings deposits over detailed breakdowns. Moreover, a simulation based on the HFCS data demonstrates the effect that the inclusion of savings deposits in the most affluent tail of the distribution has on common statistics. Undercoverage above all of the upper deposit ranges suggests an underestimation or bias in the statistics. This underestimation, however, can be shown to be relatively minor, particularly in the case of robust statistical measures, such as the median or percentile ratios.

Keywords

Wealth distribution survey national accounts

References

Albacete, N., P. Lindner, K. Wagner, and S. Zottel. 2012. “Eurosystem Finance and Consumption Survey 2010: Methodological Notes for Austria.” Addendum to Monetary Policy and the Economy Q3/12: 1-100.

Andreasch, M., P. Fessler, and M. Schürz. 2009. “Austrian Households’ Equity Capital - Evidence from Microdata.” Monetary Policy and the Economy Q4/09: 61-78.

Antoniewicz, R., R. Bonci, A. Generale, G. Marchese, A. Neri, K. Maser, and P. O’Hagan. 2005. “Household Wealth: Comparing Micro and Macro Data in Canada, Italy and United States.” Paper prepared for the LWS Workshop: “Construction and Usage of Comparable Microdata on Wealth: the LWS”, Banca d’Italia, Perugia, Italy, 27-29 January 2005. Available at: http://www.lisproject.org/lws/introduction/files/antoniewiczrevised.pdf (accessed 6 November 2012).

Avery, R.B., G.E. Elliehausen, and A.B. Kennickell. 1988. “Measuring Wealth with Survey Data: An Evaluation of the 1983 Survey of Consumer Finance.” Review of Income and Wealth 34: 339-369.

Bricker, J. and G.V. Engelhardt. 2008. “Measurement Error in Earnings Data in the Health and Retirement Study.” Journal of Economic and Social Measurement 33: 39-61.

Davies, P.S. and L.T. Fisher. 2009. “Measurement Issues Associated with Using Survey Data Matched with Administrative Data from the Social Security Administration.” Social Security Bulletin 69: 1-12.

ECB. 2013. “The Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey - Results from the First Wave.” Statistics Paper Series ECB 2: 1-111.

Fessler, P., M. Kasy, and P. Lindner. 2012. “Survey mode effects on income inequality measurement.” Paper prepared for the 32nd General Conference of The International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. Available at: http://www.iariw.org/papers/2012/LindnerPaper.pdf (accessed 2 December 2013).

Fessler, P., P. Mooslechner, and M. Schürz. 2012. “Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey 2010 - First Results for Austria.” Monetary Policy and the Economy Q3/12: 24-62.

10.

Henriques, A.M. and J.W. Hsu. 2014. “Analysis of Wealth Using Micro- and Macrodata: A Comparison of the Survey of Consumer Finances and Flow of Funds Accounts.” In Measuring Economic Sustainability and Progress. National Bureau of Economic Research Studies in Income and Wealth (Book 72), edited by D.W. Jorgenson, J. Steven Landefeld, and P. Schreyer, 245-276. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.

11.

Johansson, F. and A. Klevmarken. 2007. “Comparing Register and Survey Data.” Chapter 2 in Essays on Measurement Errors and Nonresponse. Economic Studies 103. Ph.D. diss., Department of Economics, Uppsala University.

12.

Kapteyn, A. and J.Y. Ypma. 2007. “Measurement Error and Misclassification: A Comparison of Survey and Administrative Data.” Journal of Labor Economics 25: 513-551.

13.

Kavonius, I.K. and J. Honkkila. 2013. “Reconciling Micro and Macro Data on Household Wealth: A Test Based on Three Euro Area Countries.” Journal of Economic and Social Policy 15: 1-30.

14.

Kavonius, I.K. and V-M. Törmälehto. 2010. “Integrating Micro and Macro Accounts - The Linkages between Euro Area Household Wealth Survey and Aggregate Balance Sheets for Households.” Prepared for the 31st General Conference of the International Association for Research on Income and Wealth, St. Gallen, 22-28

15.

August 2010. Available at: http://www.iariw.org/papers/2010/7aKavonius.pdf (accessed 16 April 2015).

16.

Kavonius, I.K., and V-M. Törmälehto. 2003. “Household Income Aggregates in Micro and Macro Statistics.” Statistical Journal of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 20: 9-25.

17.

Mathä, T.Y., A. Porpiglia, and M. Ziegelmeyer. 2012. “The Luxembourg Household Finance and Consumption Survey (LU-HFCS): Introduction and Results.” Cahier D’E´ tudes Working Paper, Banque Centrale Du Luxembourg.

18.

Roemer, M. 2002. “Using Administrative Earnings Records to Assess Wage Data Quality in the March Current Population Survey and the Survey of the Income and Program Participation.” U.S. Census Bureau Technical Paper No. TP-2002-22. Available at: https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/publications/asa2002.pdf (accessed 16 April 2015).

19.

Sierminska, E., A. Brandolini, and T.M. Smeeding. 2006. “Comparing Wealth Distribution across Rich Countries: First Results from the Luxembourg Wealth Study.” Luxembourg Wealth Study Working Paper Series 1. Available at: http://www.lisdatacenter.org/wps/lwswps/1.pdf (accessed 16 April 2015).

20.

Stiglitz, J.E., A. Sen, and J.-P. Fitoussi. 2009. “Report by the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress.” CMEPSP. Available at: http://www.stiglitz-sen-fitoussi.fr/documents/rapport_anglais.pdf (accessed 16 April 2015).

21.

Törmälehto, V.-M. 2011. “Comparing National Accounts Income Aggregates with Income Aggregates based on LIS Micro-Data.” LIS Technical Working Paper Series 2. Revised version.