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Income reporting behaviour in sample surveys

Author

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  • Andrea Neri

    (Bank of Italy, Economics, Research and International Relations area)

  • Roberta Zizza

    (Bank of Italy, Economics, Research and International Relations area)

Abstract

This paper analyses respondents' behaviour when reporting their income sources in sample surveys and presents a method to deal with response error. Survey data relating to the number of earning recipients and to amounts received are validated using external information from administrative and statistical sources. Our findings suggest that the response bias on household income is about 12 per cent of reported figures. Misreporting is particularly severe for income from self-employment, financial assets and rents, as well as from secondary jobs. As to the distribution of response error, about 15 per cent of respondents show a high probability of misreporting. Misreporting is more diffuse among males, the older, the self-employed and respondents at the higher end of the earnings distribution.

Suggested Citation

  • Andrea Neri & Roberta Zizza, 2010. "Income reporting behaviour in sample surveys," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 777, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    • Handle: RePEc:bdi:wptemi:td_777_10
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    6. Giovanni D'Alessio & Andrea Neri, 2015. "Income and wealth sample estimates consistent with macro aggregates: some experiments," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 272, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    7. Chakravorty, Swastika & Goli, Srinivas, 2021. "Family Structure, Economic Outcomes and Perceived Change in Economic Well-being in India," OSF Preprints 23kvs, Center for Open Science.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    income distribution; response error; item response theory; SHIW; data accuracy.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J65 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings
    • D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
    • L11 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms

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