Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/170852 
Year of Publication: 
2017
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 10868
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Survey under-coverage of top incomes leads to bias in survey-based estimates of overall income inequality. Using income tax record data in combination with survey data is a potential approach to address the problem; we consider here the UK's pioneering 'SPI adjustment' method that implements this idea. Since 1992, the principal income distribution series (reported annually in Households Below Average Income) has been based on household survey data in which the incomes of a small number of 'very rich' individuals are adjusted using information from 'very rich' individuals in personal income tax return data. We explain what the procedure involves, reveal the extent to which it addresses survey under-coverage of top incomes, and show how it affects estimates of overall income inequality. More generally, we assess whether the SPI adjustment is fit for purpose and consider whether variants of it could be employed by other countries.
Subjects: 
inequality
income inequality
survey under-coverage
SPI adjustment
top incomes
tax return data
survey data
JEL: 
D31
C81
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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