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?Tokei Chosa Kekka no Katsuyo Jireishu (Examples of Uses of Statistical Survey Results),? Family income and expenditure survey
To learn the income and expenditure of households for each month, as part of basic information for preparing national economic and social policies
Every month
- As an index for the national government to evaluate the nation?s economy
Use in the Monthly Economic Report
- The Monthly Economic Report shows how the government considers the national economy, after analyses and consideration of the latest economic trends. The Report is presented by the Cabinet to the ?Ministerial Meeting on the Monthly Economic Report? every month. The Family income and expenditure survey results are used as part of the indices considered to judge the trends of demand from individual consumption.
Use for the composite index (CI)
- The composite index (CI), announced by the Cabinet Office every month, is a synthesis of changes in some selected economic trend indices from the previous month. Thus, the CI is used in judging economic trends. There are three types of CIs. A coincidence CI changes almost simultaneously with the actual economy. A leading CI moves ahead of it. A lagging CI follows it. The data on worker?s households from the Family income and expenditure survey results, compared with those of the same month of the previous year, are used as an index for the lagging CI.
- Taxation system
Consideration of the rates and burdens of various taxes and deductions
- The Family income and expenditure survey results are used in estimates made to determine how much consumption tax burden each income class will have to bear.
- Also, in considering issues relating to legitimate expenses of salaried workers, estimates of such expenses quote from the survey as to the amount of payments under items considered to be such legitimate expenses.
- Pensions and health care expenses
Consideration of the pension system and calculation of health care expenses (as basic data)
- Analyses of demand for and supply of foods and their prices
Analyses of the demand for foods in general, including, grains, vegetables, fruits, etc.
- Analyses of the latest trends in this demand are based on expenditures and volumes purchased obtained from the Family income and expenditure survey.
- Measures to help farming villages
Consideration of the issues facing farming villages today
- The survey results are employed in comparison of a farming household?s income and that of a worker?s.
- Policies with rice
Consideration of rice production adjustment
- This uses the data from the survey on purchase of rice per household.
- Safeguards
Verification of the effects of a safeguard
- The survey is used in a comparison of consumption of a safeguarded item, before and after the safeguard, to understand its effects.
- Public officials
Calculations of salaries and allowances to public officials
- The survey provides some basic data for calculations of the standard cost of living and the cold region allowance, and to revisions of the salary standard.
- Housing policies
Housing policies
- The survey is used in the analysis of people?s ability to buy a house.
Estimate of household consumption expenditure
- Item-by-item expenditure amounts per household of two or more from the survey are used in the estimate of household consumption expenditure, which is part of the final private expenditure of the quarterly quick estimation (QE), an important element in national economy calculations.
- White Paper on Labor and the Economy
Trends in workers? household economy
- Major items of household economy (of workers? households), and "ups-and-downs" in actual consumption
- Trends in the household income of the head of a household in each age group and class, consumption expenditure, and the average propensity to consume
People?s livelihood and consumption structure
- Change in the consumption structure
- Change in the ratio of consumption expenditure, in each age group and class of the head of a household
- White Paper on Aging Society
Economic situations of aged people
- Annual expenditure per year per member of a household, in each age group and class of the head of a household
- Saving, debt, annual income, and the rate of house ownership per household, in each age group and class of the head of a household
- Distribution of the difference between a household?s outstanding saving and debt, in each class
- White Paper on Tourism
How people are traveling
- Change in the proportion of travel-related expenditure in the whole expenditure related to leisure time
Welfare services
- The survey provides some data for calculation of the local standard of Supplementary Security Income amounts. With this local standard, each prefectural government can set up, on its own, the monthly income and expenditure of a household resident in its prefectural capital.
Environmental protection
- The survey carries the volume of kerosene and propane gas in the capital of each Prefecture. These data are used in estimating CO2 emissions from people?s livelihoods in each Prefecture.
Industrial developments
- The survey contains the amount of expenditure for and volume purchased of each item per household in each prefectural capital. These data are used in analytical work to plan how to revitalize local shopping areas.
- Also, the survey includes the average volume of vegetables and fruits purchased by a household. Such data are employed in preparing plans to improve and arrange wholesale markets.
Evaluation of policies
- Data on expenditure for and volume purchased of rice, contained in the survey?s results, are used in evaluating policies to expand consumption of rice.
Calculation of Consumer Price Index
- To calculate the Consumer Price Index, it is necessary to choose indicator items that are important in household consumption expenditure and representative of price fluctuations. For this reason, it is necessary to choose items with the largest amounts of expenditure, from the aggregate of household account books actually written by consumers, as collected by the Family income and expenditure survey. In this calculation, the weight each item has is the item?s share in the whole household expenditure. To obtain this weight, the annual average of the monthly expenditure per household for each item, as contained in the survey results, is used.
Analyses of consumption by private businesses and other organizations
- The survey provides some basic data for marketing to food and food-related businesses.
- Analyses of consumption of foods in general, conducted by food-related organizations
- Analyses of trends in dietary habits and supply-demand of foods
- Collections of data on livelihood and finance (booklets published by financial institutions), and others
