Development of OECD Guidelines for Micro Statistics

on Household Wealth

Bindi KindermannA/g Director Living Conditions

Outline of presentation Wealth and wellbeing

Micro data availability

About the OECD initiative

Key outcomes

Timelines and future directions

Wealth and wellbeing

• Essential component of people’s consumption possibilities and material conditions.

• Currently, some important analytical needs for macro and micro level information are not satisfied

SVKNOR

POLMEX

ESTHUN

CZEGRC FIN SVN

ESP IRLKOR

PRTDNK

AUSOECD

SWEFRA

DEUAUT ITA

NLDCAN

JPN

GBRLU

X ISRBEL

CHEUSA

0

10 000

20 000

30 000

40 000

50 000

60 000

70 000

80 000

90 000

CAN: 60% of total wealth

JPN: 80% of total wealth

Household net financial wealth per capita2009, US dollars at 2000 PPPs

AUS: 30% of total wealth

Micro data availability• Available for 26 countries (at least)

• Luxembourg Wealth Study 12 countries: Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Finland,

Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, UK, US

• Euro area Household Finance and Consumption Survey

17 countries: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain

Current limitationsIncreasing number of countries entering this measurement space …

× there are a range of definitional and design differences that impact comparability across datasets (e.g. over time, between countries, between micro & macro data)

× there are no agreed standards to underpin these developments

About the OECD initiative

• Develop guidelines for micro level household wealth statistics

• Establish an international framework for measurement and analysis of household income, consumption and wealth statistics at the micro level

Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Report

Recommendation 3: Consider income and consumption jointly with wealth

Recommendation 4: Give more prominence to the distribution of income, consumption and wealth

Income and Wealth, Australia - 2009-10

Low income, low wealth Low wealth, but not low income

Low income, but not low wealth

All persons0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

Mean equivalised household income (annual) Mean equivalised household wealth

$'000

Key outcomes Agreed concepts, definitions and

classifications contribute to more accurate, more complete and

more internationally comparable data Alignment, where possible to the SNA08

to facilitate integrated analysis Practical guidance on measurement,

quality assurance, analysis and dissemination

Timelines & future directions Final drafts circulated for consultation with OECD

Committee on Statistics member countries late 2012- early 2013, and then published in first half 2013

The OECD Expert Group will recommend:

i. the reports be ‘road tested’, and that, in due course, they be refreshed and adopted as international statistical standards

ii. better use of existing information to inform policy

Further information Marco Mira d’Ercole (marco.mira@oecd.org )

Bindi Kindermann (bindi.kindermann@abs.gov.au)

Nicolas Ruiz (nicolas.ruiz@abs.gov.au)