Abstract

This paper analyses the sources of income measurement error in surveys with a unique dataset.We use the Austrian 2008-2011 waves of EU-SILC which provide individual information on wages,pensions and unemployment benefits from survey interviews and officially linked administrativerecords. Thus, we do not have to fall back on complex two-sample matching procedures likerelated studies. We empirically investigate four sources of measurement error, namely (i) socialdesirability, (ii) socio-demographic characteristics of the respondent, (iii) the survey design, and(iv) the presence of learning effects. We find strong evidence for a social desirability bias inincome reporting, while the presence of learning effects is mixed and depends on the income typeunder consideration. An Owen value decomposition reveals that social desirability is a majorexplanation of misreporting in wages and pensions, whereas socio-demographic characteristicsare most relevant for mismatches in unemployment benefits.

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• Stefan ANGEL
  Phone: +43 (1) 313 36 - 5883
  E-​Mail: stefan.angel@wu.ac.at
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• Franziska DISSLBACHER
  E-​Mail: franziska.disslbacher@wu.ac.at
   

• Stefan HUMER
  E-​Mail: stefan.humer@wu.ac.at
   

• Matthias SCHNETZER
  E-​Mail: matthias.schnetzer@wu.ac.at