1 The Receipts Approach to the Collection of Household Expenditure Data

• Main Author: Rósmundur Guðnason
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Consumer price index; household expenditure surveys; household budget surveys; receipts approach; scanner data; shopping substitution bias; outlet; Iceland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.682.5143; http://www.ipeer.ca/papers/Gudnason,June18,2004,RGVancouver2.0.pdf

The receipts approach to the collection of household expenditure data consists of allowing Household Expenditure Survey (HES) participants to collect and turn in bar code receipts. This detailed data can then be utilised in a systematic way. The present paper describes the use of such an approach in the Icelandic HES, analyses the results, and evaluates the main elements of the receipts approach method. This approach was first used in the Icelandic HES in 1995 and has been continuously employed in the HES since 2000. Information gathered in this way now covers nearly one-third of total HES expenditures and approximately 75 per cent of all survey transactions. HES data of this sort has been the source of the very detailed weights used in calculating the Icelandic CPI. Furthermore, it was the main source for analysing the sudden increase in shopping substitution bias when inflation rose suddenly in Iceland during the second quarter of 2001. This occurrence is analysed here with receipts data from the HES. The agenda for future research on the receipts approach is also discussed.