Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/104724 
Year of Publication: 
2014
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1427
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
The Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) provides information about household wealth (real and financial assets as well as liabilities) from 15 Euro-countries after the financial crisis of 2007/8. The survey will be the central dataset in this topic in the future. However, several aspects point to potential methodological constraints regarding crosscountry comparability. Therefore the aim of this paper is to get a better insight in the data quality of this important data source. We will first present a synopsis of cross-country differences, which is the core of the paper. We will compare the sampling processes, the interview modes, the oversampling techniques, the unit and item non-response rates and how itis dealt with them via weighing and imputation as well as further points which might restrict country comparability. In addition we give a first insight in the selectivity of item nonresponse in a cross-national setting. We make use of logit models as well as apply a decomposition method suggested by Fairlie (1999, 2005) to identify differences in characteristics as well as structural (cultural) differences in the item non-response missing process.
Subjects: 
Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS)
data quality
crosscountry comparability
item non-response
Fairlie decomposition
JEL: 
D31
N30
C83
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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