Household budget survey 

BDF

The aim of the household budget survey (BDF) is to put together the entire household accounts: expenditure and resources of households in France (mainland and overseas departments).

The study of expenditure is the traditional and central purpose of the survey: all household expenditure is recorded, the amount and nature of these expenses, broken down into a classification of about 900 budgetary items (COICOP) compatible with the classification used in the national accounts.

All expenses are covered, including those not associated with the consumption of goods and services (in the sense of the national accounts): taxes and contributions, insurance premiums, major home renovation expenditure, loan repayments.

As well as expenses per se, the survey also collects information about non-monetary consumption: food produced for own consumption.

The survey also covers household resources, which include individual income (wages, independent earned income, etc.) and revenue received by the household as a whole (benefits, transfers between households, etc.).

The household budget survey mainly collects monetary data. Other more specialised surveys on each item of consumption (transport, housing, leisure, holidays, etc.) use a qualitative approach to household behavior. Nevertheless, in order to illustrate these monetary data, some complementary questions are asked on the financial situation as perceived by the household.

The BDF survey has existed in France in its present form (5-yearly survey) since 1979 (1995 for overseas departments). Surveys covering the same topics have existed since 1956 in other forms (permanent surveys, food surveys, etc.).

Until 1995, it was mostly monetary data that were collected; since the 2001 edition, quantities of products consumed have also been collected. In 2011, the BDF survey is reduced to 2 visits and is extended to the overseas department of Mayotte.

In order to ease the questioning and to obtain more precise figures, the 2011 survey received a match with administrative files on surveyed households. The resources of households in Metropolitan France and the Isle of La Réunion were used for this match. For the other four overseas departments, the " Household budget survey " used as previously the amounts declared during the questioning. These figures provide a satisfactory measure of the income in the overseas departments. The same method is used for the survey 2016-2017.

Since 2001, expenditure has been classified according to the European classification. This differed considerably from the French classification used until 1995. A gradual convergence has fully adapted the nomenclature of the 2011 survey to COICOP.

Survey

Punctual or aperiodic