Household Budget Survey, HBS

Summary

HBS is the result of a long process as it started in 1958. Several conceptual and methodological changes were reached in the 1997-2006 period when the user requirements, the statistical needs and the European recommendations led to a permanent survey to ensure the highest data quality. The reform implemented in 2006 maintains the concept of a single annual survey for providing the Spanish society and researchers with information on annual expenditures by households on various fields of social concern (equipment, housing, nutrition, health, education, tourism) to be addressed by introducing annual thematic modules. In this way, HBS fits the national, international and Eurostat recommendations concerning budgeting surveys: - harmonisation and content reduction - decrease of households collaboration (once a year) but increasing time (two weeks per year) - simplification of data collection instruments - reduction of permanent use variables The main difficultly of this survey in Spain is the need to obtain information, not only for national purposes, but also for the 17 regions.

Type of data

Data Source
Survey

Type of Study
Survey different

Data gathering method
Face-to-face
Other: Direct entry of expense data in the Household (two weeks) and Individual account book (one week).

Access to data

Conditions of access
On site free access to defined tables and microdata files for scientific purpose and elaboration. Notes for general use and for media. Tables available in Spanish 2006-2011 (http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft25%2Fp458&file=inebase&L=0) and anonymized microdata (2006-2011) (http://www.ine.es/prodyser/micro_epf2006.htm) Tables available in English 2006-2011 (http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do;jsessionid=1785FF38BE18C32ADC0BA41321962FAB.jaxi03?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft25%2Fp458&file=inebase&L=1)

Type of available data (e.g. anonymised microdata, aggregated tables, etc.)
Aggregated tables and anonymised microdata

Formats available
Tables: Text and EXCEL format Microdata: ASCII, SAS and SPSS zip files following a register design file, and inputs for SAS and SPSS.

Coverage

Coverage Years of collection, reference years, and sample sizes
Data collection is ongoing since 2006. The latest data to be published was 2011. The sample consisted of 22,750 dwellings.

First year of collection
Since 1958, several surveys about this matter has been made (quarterly, annual, etc.). Since 2006, the survey is annual, and for the total expenditure and for the 12 main groups, a link with the previous survey (ECPF 1998-2005) was made (available on the website).

Stratification if applicable
A two-stage sample has been used with stratification of the primary sampling units. The primary sampling units are the census sections in which the whole country is divided at the moment of the survey. The second stage units are main family dwellings. No sub-sample has been carried out at all and all households who reside in the dwelling are investigated. Sections were selected, within each stratum, with probability proportional to its population size and dwellings with equal probability in each section of the sample by means of systematic sample with random start. An independent sample has been selected within each autonomous community (region). Strata are defined according to the size of municipality of residence and substrata according to socio-economic status and other variables related to the activity situation and the age.

Base used for sampling

Geographical coverage and breakdowns
HBS covers the entire population residing in private households in the national territory (including Ceuta and Melilla). Collective or institutional households (eldercare institutions, hospitals, hostels, boarding houses, prisons…) are excluded, as are generally homeless people. Results are published for Spain, the 17 regions, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

Age range
Population residing in private households.

Statistical representativeness
Regional representative, please specify

Coverage of main and cross-cutting topics
In HBS, a great level of information is collected in detail, not only total expenditure estimation is provided, but also the way this expenditure is distributed between different goods and services (255 for national objectives, 5 digit). At a smaller level, estimations depending on different features are published: Geographical: regions, municipal size and density. Household: size, type, main source of income and level of income. Head of household (person contributing most to the income of the household): sex, age, activity status, level of studies completed, status in employment, economic sector in employment, occupation, citizenship and from 2011 country of birth.

Linkage

Standardisation
The HBS in Spain collects information on consumption expenditures according to the national adaptation of Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP/HBS). National classification of economic sector in employment according to NACE rev.2 was introduced in HBS in 2009 and occupation classification according to ISCO 08 in 2012. In relation with ISCED, a new national classification is being studied and in 2011, categories of level of completed studies were updated. Since 2011, Spain HBS has followed, in general, recommendations concerning the implementation of core social variables in household surveys by introducing new variables (for example, country of birth) or updating other variables already included (definition and/or categories), for example classification used in country of citizenship.

Possibility of linkage among databases
In microdata files, a common ID code allows link information of different files (households, individuals and expenses). The direct identification of one household through two years of collaboration is not possible in the general file. To do so, users must explain the objective of their study before obtaining this information. This additional file is subjected to additional fees.

Data quality

Entry errors if applicable
Data cleaning is done on two levels: firstly, debugging the household level information seeking consistency of the different questionnaires; secondly, carrying out quarterly a purge of the aggregate data (recording and coding errors). Missing values due to non-response or wrong values affecting the quantitative variables (expenditure or income) are imputed and estimated following statistical procedures. Non-response at household level is corrected by weight adjustments to external data sources (calibration).

Breaks
Since 2006, the survey is annual, and for the total expenditure and for the 12 main groups a link with the previous quarterly survey (ECPF 1998-2005) was made (available on the website).

Consistency of terminology or coding used during collection
Since 2006, the same classification of goods and services is used.

Governance

Contact information
Ena Martín Bernia
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spanish Statistical Office, INE)
Paseo de la Castellana, 183
28071 Madrid Spain Phone: 91 583 91 00
Email: encarnacion.martin.bernia(at)ine.es
Url: http://www.ine.es/jaxi/menu.do?type=pcaxis&path=%2Ft25%2Fp458&file=inebase&L=0

Timeliness, transparency
Sample of each year is spread from January to December. Until 2012, tables and microdata files were published in the fourth quarter of the year (t+1), but in 2013, for the first time, publication of data from 2012 was moved forward to July 2013.