Serbia and Montenegro

Title: Serbia Household Budget Survey 2003/2004

GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASIC DEFINITIONS

1. Background

Further information is available from Republic Staistical Office of Milana Rakica 5, Belgrade, phone: +381 11 411 832, fax: +381 11 411 260, e-mail: skapuran@statserb.sr.gov.yu or kapuran@infosky.net.
Data have been collected by household survey since 2003.

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 without any specific geographic areas excluded.

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 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
  • sharing a common budget for (at least) food and housing expenditures
  • pooling their income to some extent

Unit members: Usual residents are always included as unit members. Visitors (not usual residents) temporarily living in the dwelling are included, if staying continuously for more than 12 months. 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: ¹
The concept of reference person 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 03/03 to 02/04. These data are collected in the period from 03/03 to 02/04. This survey is conducted irregularly/occasionally. The statistics are published irregularly/occasionally.

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
• ethnicity

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. Primary Sampling Units (PSU) were selected using probability proportional to size and Ultimate Sampling Units (USU) were selected using systematic sampling. The sample size was 4800 households or other units. The overall response rate for the survey was 94 percent. Errors/biases were minimized by using an updated sampling frame, an increased sample size.²

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. ³ 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 excludes receipts resulting from the sale or reduction of assets and/or from incurring liabilities. Exceptions are none. Income excludes receipts that are not currently available to the unit.

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
• employer social security contributions
• 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)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• goods produced for barter , net of inputs
• services produced for barter , net of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• 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
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling
• 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

The following receipts are not collected:

• social transfers in kind: medical services , excluded for other reasons: not stated
• social transfers in kind: public education , excluded for other reasons: not stated
• social transfers in kind: transport subsidies , excluded for other reasons: not stated
• social transfers in kind: cultural and recreational services , excluded for other reasons: not stated

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
• employer social security contributions
• 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

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

• profit/loss from unincorporated enterprises (mixed income)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , net of inputs)
• goods produced for barter , net of inputs)
• services produced for barter , net of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise

The following receipts are classified as property income:

• services from other consumer durables (net)
• interest received
• dividends
• rentals (payment received for produced assets e.g. house)
• rents (payment received for un-produced assets e.g. land)
• royalties

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

• 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
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling
• 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

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

• services from owner-occupied dwellings

The following receipts are excluded for other reasons:

• 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

The following receipts are collected using the last month 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
• employer social security contributions
• 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)
• drawing for own use from unincorporated enterprises
• goods produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• services produced for own consumption , net of inputs
• goods produced for barter , net of inputs
• services produced for barter , net of inputs
• stock consumed from unincorporated enterprise
• services from owner-occupied dwellings
• services from other consumer durables (net)
• 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
• free government dwelling
• subsidized government dwelling
• 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

Negative values (business losses) were included when computing self-employment income, receipts and costs are recorded separately during the month.

6. Expenditure data

Data collection method:

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 items except durables

Interviews are used to collect expenditure data with the respondent completing the interview by a mix of recall and using documentation.

Data for the following expenditure items are collected by referring:⁶

• to expenditures in last one month:
  • housing

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

• to expenditures in last 12 months:
  • other durable goods

Data for the following expenditure items are not collected by interview because they are collected by diary:

• food

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Household consumption expenditure':

• non-durable goods purchased
• durable goods purchased (except housing)
• services of owner-occupied housing
• own produced non-durable goods
• own-produced durable goods
• own-produced services
• 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)
• licences and fees (e.g. driver's licence, hunting licence, vehicle registration)
• out of pocket health expenditure , gross of claims
• out of pocket education expenditures , gross of refunds
• out of pocket transport expenditures , gross of refunds
• second hand goods purchased
• expenditure abroad

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Actual Household consumption':

• income in-kind receipts of goods
• income in-kind receipts of services
• 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

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Non-consumption household expenditure':

• mortgage repayments, including interest⁸
• 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
• investment-related expenditures (e.g. purchase of shares/stocks)

The following types of expenditure items are classified as 'Non-household expenditure':

• other business-related expenditures

The following types of expenditure items are excluded due to measurement problems:

• gambling expenditure

The following types of expenditure items are excluded for other reasons:

• purchase price of owner-occupied housing (imputed rent used)
• major repairs, conversions and extensions to owner-occupied housing (imputed rent used)
• services from durables owned (except housing)
• life insurance premiums
• housing maintenance, minor repairs (imputed rent used)
• occupational expenditures (not private)

The following types of expenditure items are collected on an 'acquisitions' basis:

• non-durable goods purchased
• durable goods purchased (except housing)
• services of owner-occupied housing
• income in-kind receipts of goods
• income in-kind receipts of services
• 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
• purchase of gifts of goods and services given to others outside the household
• second hand goods purchased
• investment-related expenditures (e.g. purchase of shares/stocks)
• other business-related expenditures

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

• own produced non-durable goods
• own-produced durable goods
• own-produced services

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

• mortgage repayments, including interest⁸
• 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)
• licences and fees (e.g. driver's licence, hunting licence, vehicle registration)
• out of pocket health expenditure , gross of claims
• out of pocket education expenditures , gross of refunds
• out of pocket transport expenditures , gross of refunds
• regular cash payments to others outside the household
• non-regular cash payments to others outside the household
• expenditure abroad

Classification: COICOP is used for classifying expenditure and has 644 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

Households are requested to indicate whether durable goods are new or second-hand when their acquisition is recorded.⁷

Non-response: There is no substitution for non-response, whether by non-contact or by refusal.

Non-response is reduced using the following measures:

• more than one repeat visits
• other incentives : gifts and lottery
• other measures : interviewer training and central back-up

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

The responses are edited by the following:

• interviewers, data collectors
• field supervisors
• office staff

Extreme values are retained without change. In-kind receipts and consumption of own production are included in the estimates. Consumption of own production is valued using:^9,10 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

Treatment of selected groups/values in analysis: No households/units are excluded from analysis because of incomplete response. Missing values are imputed only on some occasions when it is an obvious mistake. 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:

• sampling
• non-response
• bench-marking

Sampling errors: Sampling errors are computed for sampling errors have not yet been computed .

Tabulation and Analysis: Statistics are presented showing averages per month and statistics are analysed and tabulated for households only. ¹¹

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
• other characteristic of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• absolute income groups
• principal source of household income
• expenditure percentiles
• expenditure classes in monetary terms
• household size
• structure of household
• other characteristic of household

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
• other characteristic of reference person or head of household
• income percentiles
• absolute income groups
• principal source of household income
• expenditure percentiles
• expenditure classes in monetary terms
• household size
• structure of household
• other characteristic of household

Documentation and Dissemination:
Published survey reports: Will publish annual results (for period March 2003 - February 2004) in May 2004

Additional statistics (or special tables on request) are available for public use, free of charge (for the public sector) and with charges (additional processing fee for the private sector). Separate tables are published for such tables will be published at a later date. Files of unidentifiable unit data are available (or available on request) for public use, free of charge.