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Evaluating the quality of gross incomes in SILC: Compare them with fiscal data and re-calibrate them using EUROMOD

  1. Dieter Vandelannoote  Is a corresponding author
  2. André Decoster  Is a corresponding author
  3. Toon Vanheukelom  Is a corresponding author
  4. Gerlinde Verbist  Is a corresponding author
  1. Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp, Belgium
  2. Research Centre of Public Economics, Belgium
Research article
Volume 9(3) Winter 2016
Cite this article as: D. Vandelannoote, A. Decoster, T. Vanheukelom, G. Verbist; 2016; Evaluating the quality of gross incomes in SILC: Compare them with fiscal data and re-calibrate them using EUROMOD; International Journal of Microsimulation; 9(3); 5-34. doi: 10.34196/ijm.00141
6 figures and 18 tables

Figures

Figure 1
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Implicit average tax rates (% of gross income).

Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Figure 2
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Distribution of total household gross income in IPCAL and SILC (% of observations).

Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Figure 3
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Distribution of differences in total household gross income in IPCAL and SILC (% of observations).

Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Figure 4
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Iterative procedure used to calculate new gross incomes in SILC.
Figure 5
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Distribution of household gross income in IPCAL, SILC reported and SILC adjusted (% of observations).

Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Figure 6
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Distribution of differences in household gross income in IPCAL, SILC reported and SILC adjusted (% of observations).

Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Tables

Table 1

Imputations per income source.

Number of observations Number of imputed values Imputed values as % of total
Income source Net Gross Net Gross
Employment 5,635 186 424 3.3 7.5
Self-employment 714 162 444 22.7 62.2
Old age pensions 2,423 331 1,165 13.7 48.1
Survivor pensions 103 7 37 6.8 35.9
Unemployment benefit 1,441 4 4 0.3 0.3
Sickness benefit 185 24 99 13.0 53.5
Disability benefit 471 17 202 3.6 42.9

  1. Source: SILC 2010.

Table 2

Number of matched observations.

Dataset Matched Not Matched Number of observations
EUROMOD 11,656 3,044 14,700
SILC (p-file) 11,656 160 11,816
IPCAL 11,656 136 11,792

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL.

Table 3

Components of household gross income (HY010) in SILC, included or excluded for comparison with taxable gross income in IPCAL.

Included Excluded
HY040G income from rental of a property or land HY050G family/children related allowances
HY080G regular inter-household cash transfer received HY060G social exclusion not elsewhere classified
HY090G interests, dividends, profit from capital investment in unincorporated businesses HY070G housing allowances
HY110G income received by people aged under 16 PY021G company car
PY010G employee cash or near cash income PY140G education-related allowances
PY050G cash benefits or losses from self-employment
PY090G unemployment benefits
PY100G old age benefits
PY110G survivor benefits
PY120G sickness benefits
PY130G disability benefits
PY080G pension from individual private plans
Table 4

Total household gross income: IPCAL vs. SIL.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) % (€/year)
44,135 41,729 2,405 5.8 30,624 6,095

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 5

Correspondence of gross income components in SILC and IPCAL (number and % of observations with positive income from income source).

Number of observations % of observations
Income source IPCAL & SILC IPCAL SILC Total IPCAL & SILC IPCAL SILC
Employment (1) 5,592 1,298 145 7,035 79.5 18.5 2.1
Self-employment (2) 567 218 307 1,092 51.9 20.0 28.1
(1) and (2) 6,187 1,049 146 7,382 83.8 14.2 2.0
Old age pensions (3) 2,291 298 122 2,711 84.5 11.0 4.5
Survivor pensions (4) 92 422 78 592 15.5 71.3 13.2
(3) and (4) 2,458 283 50 2,791 88.1 10.1 1.8
Unemployment 1,175 847 251 2,273 51.7 37.3 11.0
Sickness (5) 142 1,213 42 1,397 10.2 86.8 3.0
Disability (6) 65 498 402 965 6.7 51.6 41.7
(5) and (6) 503 881 136 1,520 33.1 58.0 8.9
All 9,476 777 164 10,417 91.0 7.5 1.6

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 6

Gross income components: IPCAL vs. SILC.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
Employment (1) 33,455 31,554 1,901 6% 8,736 5,592
Self-employment (2) 55,667 24,221 31,446 130% 66,920 567
(1) and (2) 35,928 31,500 4,427 14% 22,636 6,187
Old age pensions (3) 17,229 17,953 −723 −4% 17,701 2,291
Survivor pensions (4) 14,839 13,883 955 7% 2591 92
(3) and (4) 18,607 17,702 904 5% 16,767 2,458
Unemployment 9,270 8,767 503 6% 7,635 1,175
Sickness (5) 6,097 5,591 506 9% 3,623 142
Disability (6) 3,907 11,914 -8,007 -67% 7,988 65
(5) and (6) 10,608 9,932 676 7% 5,986 503
All 30,462 26,533 3,930 15% 23,852 9,476

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 7

Gross income components, not imputed: IPCAL vs. SILC.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
Employment (1) 33,847 31,907 1,939 6% 8,491 5,019
Self-employment (2) 63,761 27,777 35,984 130% 93,942 134
(1) and (2) 34,296 31,390 2,906 9% 18,281 5,390
Old age pensions (3) 17,395 18,370 -974 -5% 19,944 1,195
Survivor pensions (4) 14,839 13,883 955 7% 2,591 92
(3) and (4) 18,735 17,973 761 4% 18,682 1,321
Unemployment 9,217 8,772 444 5% 3,915 1,172
Sickness (5) 6,097 5,591 506 9% 3623 142
Disability (6) 3,907 11,914 −8,007 −67% 7988 65
(5) and (6) 10,608 9,932 676 7% 5,986 503
All 30,812 27,473 3,339 12% 22,336 7,513

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 8

Gross income components, information used: IPCAL vs. SILC.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
Employment (1) 36,293 33,991 2,302 7% 8,218 3,480
Self-employment (2) 13,040 17,194 −4,154 −24% 14,177 35
(1) and (2) 36,488 34,076 2,412 7% 8,610 3,500
Old age pensions (3) 24,196 23,375 821 4% 44,093 42
Survivor pensions (4) 15,426 13,788 1,638 12% 1,871 6
(3) and (4) 23,097 21,791 1,306 6% 39,898 51
Unemployment 5,731 4,926 805 16% 4,433 268
Sickness (5) 4,799 4,098 701 17% 3,111 63
Disability (6) 2,273 6,250 −3,977 −64% 5,126 23
(5) and (6) 6,615 4,712 1,904 40% 5,199 98
All 38,089 34,862 3,227 9% 16,421 3,535

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 9

Gross income components, same socio-economic status throughout the year: IPCAL vs. SILC.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
Employment (1) 36,264 34,247 2,016 6% 14,706 4,687
Self-employment (2) 63,873 38,533 25,340 66% 73,582 325
(1) and (2) 38,765 33,905 4,860 14% 23,947 5,250
Old age pensions (3) 17,257 17,740 −483 −3% 13,470 2,209
Survivor pensions (4) 15,386 14,608 778 5% 2,255 85
(3) and (4) 18,682 17,524 1,158 7% 12,524 2,371
Unemployment 9,544 9,356 189 2% 4,211 567
Sickness (5) 11,614 10,418 1,197 11% 4,930 31
Disability (6) 5,216 16,065 −10,850 −68% 8,358 41
(5) and (6) 12,942 12,472 470 4% 6,750 343
All 31,390 27,417 3,973 14% 22,093 8,486

  1. Source: SILC 2010 and IPCAL, authors’ own calculations.

Table 10

Gross monthly income from employment, reported gross income vs. adjusted gross income, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Decile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 3,288 4,296 3,456 −840 −19.6 23.5 4.9
2 10,356 13,632 12,012 −1,620 −11.9 24.0 13.8
3 14,628 20,460 19,248 −1,212 −5.9 28.5 24.0
4 17,268 24,720 24,204 −516 −2.1 30.1 28.7
5 19,224 28,116 28,908 792 2.8 31.6 33.5
6 21,048 30,876 32,796 1,920 6.2 31.8 35.8
7 23,064 34,548 37,512 2,964 8.6 33.2 38.5
8 25,500 39,180 43,044 3,894 9.9 34.9 40.8
9 29,208 46,176 51,792 5,616 12.2 36.7 43.6
10 42,696 68,676 87,504 18,828 27.4 37.8 51.2
Total 20,616 31,056 34,032 2,976 9.6 33.6 39.4
Number of observations 5,618

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 11

Gross monthly income from self-employment, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Decile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross Adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 1,200 1,452 4,296 2,844 195.9 17.4 72.1
2 5,988 7,980 9,864 1,884 23.6 25.0 39.3
3 10,620 13,356 16,248 2,892 21.7 20.5 34.6
4 14,388 18,408 22,620 4,212 22.9 21.8 36.4
5 17,232 21,840 27,900 6,060 27.7 21.1 38.2
6 19,524 25,788 35,448 9,660 37.5 24.3 44.9
7 22,416 28,956 41,472 12,516 43.2 22.6 45.9
8 27,720 35,436 55,056 19,620 55.4 21.8 49.7
9 34,524 46,536 72,060 25,524 54.8 25.8 52.1
10 58,008 76,332 128,604 52,272 68.5 24.0 54.9
Total 20,436 26,544 39,576 13,032 49.1 23.0 48.4
Number of observations 700

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 12

Gross monthly income from an old-age pension, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Decile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 3,360 3,624 3,360 −264 −7.3 7.3 0.0
2 9,576 10,068 9,576 −492 −4.9 4.9 0.0
3 11,532 12,168 11,532 −636 −5.2 5.2 0.0
4 12,456 13,296 12,468 −828 −6.2 6.3 0.1
5 13,380 14,448 13,428 −1,020 −7.1 7.4 0.4
6 14,544 16,128 15,144 −984 −6.1 9.8 4.0
7 15,804 18,084 17,124 −960 −5.3 12.6 7.7
8 17,808 21,336 21,204 −121 −0.6 16.5 16.0
9 20,448 25,16 27,276 2,160 8.6 18.6 25.0
10 32,856 39,324 56,712 17,338 44.2 16.4 42.1
Total 15,108 17,256 18,684 1,428 8.3 12.4 19.1
Number of observations 2,423

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 13

Gross monthly income from a survivor pension, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Tertile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 8,916 9,120 8,916 −204 −2.2 2.2 0.0
2 13,320 13,932 13,476 −456 −3.3 4.4 1.2
3 17,604 19,824 19,992 168 0.8 11.2 11.9
Total 13,188 14,196 14,028 −168 −1.2 7.1 6.0
Number of observations 103

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 14

Gross monthly income from an unemployment benefit, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Decile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 732 792 792 0 0.0 7.6 7.6
2 1,512 1,632 1,656 24 1.5 7.4 8.7
3 2,208 2,316 2,388 72 3.1 4.7 7.5
4 3,324 3,480 3,552 72 2.1 4.5 6.4
5 4,428 4,644 4,704 60 1.3 4.7 5.9
6 5,892 6036 6,264 228 3.8 2.4 5.9
7 8,436 8,748 8,772 24 0.3 3.6 3.8
8 10,392 10,584 10,716 132 1.2 1.8 3.0
9 11,556 11,748 11,724 −24 −0.2 1.6 1.4
10 15,516 15,756 15,996 240 1.5 1.5 3.0
Total 6,300 6,480 6,552 72 1.1 2.8 3.8
Number of observations 1,186

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 15

Gross monthly income from a sickness benefit, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Tertile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 1,320 1,428 1,464 36 2.5 7.6 9.8
2 4,596 4,872 5,100 228 4.7 5.7 9.9
3 12,072 12,660 13,416 756 6.0 4.6 10.0
Total 5,952 6,276 6,612 336 5.4 5.2 10.0
Number of observations 182

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 16

Gross monthly income from a disability benefit, reported gross incomes vs. adjusted gross incomes, SILC 2010.

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)
Tertile Income Difference Implicit tax rate
reported net reported gross adjusted gross (3)-(2)in € (3)-(2) in % of (2) (2)-(1) in % of (2) (3)-(1) in % of (3)
1 168 600 168 −432 −72.0 72.0 0.0
2 480 732 480 −252 −34.4 34.4 0.0
3 2,100 276 2,100 1,824 660.9 −660.9 0.0
Total 912 528 912 384 72.7 −72.7 0.0
Number of observations 98

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 17

Total gross household income: IPCAL vs. SILC reported and SILC adjusted.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
SILC reported 44,135 41,729 2,405 5.8% 30,624 6,095
SILC adjusted 44,135 45,956 −1,821 −4.0% 42,035 6,095

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

Table 18

Gross income components: IPCAL vs. SILC adjusted.

Mean income Mean difference IPCAL – SILC Standard deviation Number of observations
Income source IPCAL (€/year) SILC (€/year) (€/year) (% of SILC) (€/year)
Employment (1) 33,455 34,522 −1,067 −3% 12,128 5,592
Self-employment (2) 55,667 34,797 20,870 60% 68,014 567
(1) and (2) 35,928 35,694 234 1% 25,306 6,187
Old age pensions (3) 17,229 19,722 −2,493 −13% 42;037 2,291
Survivor pensions (4) 14,839 13,528 1,311 10% 3,290 92
(3) and (4) 18,607 19,339 −732 −4% 40,524 2,458
Unemployment 9,270 8,544 725 8% 7,635 1,175
Sickness (5) 6,097 5,841 256 4% 4,496 142
Disability (6) 3,907 3,622 285 8% 1,582 65
(5) and (6) 10,608 9,969 639 6% 4,178 503
All 30,462 29,673 789 3% 31,878 9,476

  1. Source: SILC 2010, authors’ own calculations.

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