Cumulation of Cross - Section Surveys : Evaluation of Alternative Concepts for the Cumulated Continuous Household

Cumulation of Cross-Section Surveys: Evaluation of Alternative Concepts for the Cumulated Continuous Household Budget Surveys (LWR) 1999 until 2003 Compared to the Sample Survey of Income and Expenditures (EVS) 2003 With the development of household budget systems and with regard to the requirements of the European Union with new EU-SILC approaches, the cumulation of cross-section surveys to an integrated information system is recently discussed and required. In particular the reconstruction of household budget surveys should deliver yearly results as well multi-annual sufficient large samples to allow in depth analyses. This study contributes by a general conceptual foundation of the cumulation of cross-sections and an application which in particular evaluates the new cumulation concept with actual large official samples: the cross sectional cumulation of five yearly Continuous Household Budget Surveys (Laufende Wirtschaftsrechnungen, LWR) which will be compared to the large quinquennial Sample Survey of Income and Expenditures (Einkommensund Verbrauchsstichprobe, EVS) of the German Federal Statistical Office. Therewith the sensitivity of the cumulation concept with its alternatives is evaluated for private household consumption expenditures of selected expenditure groups. A recommendation concludes. JEL Classification: C42, C81, D10, E20