European National Transfer Accounts


European National Transfer Accounts

National Transfer Accounts (NTA) aim to improve our understanding of the economic consequences of demographic changes by introducing demographic information into the System of National Accounts. The European NTA 2010 data provide comprehensive and detailed age- and gender-specific economic data on income, transfers, consumption and saving in the year 2010 for 25 EU countries. These data are predestined to study the relationship between age, economic activity and the organization of intergenerational transfers.
Example: labour income and consumption
The generation of labour income (YL) is concentrated at age 20-60, with considerable differences between men and women in most of the countries. Average consumption (C) peaks around age 15, due to the public consumption expenditure for education, and in old age due to high private consumption and the consumption of public health services.
Example: private and public transfers
Children rely on private transfers from their parents as well as on public transfers, such as publicly provided education. In contrast, the needs and wants of the elderly population are to a large degree financed through public transfers, with pensions as the most important component.
Explore and download European NTA with the NTA 2010 data explorer. To access the data explorer use the panel at the top or the NTA 2010 Data link at the right.

European National Time Transfer Accounts

National Time Transfer Accounts include age- and gender-specific data on the production, consumption and transfers of services that are produced through unpaid work and not captured in National Accounts. European NTTA are based on time use data from the Harmonized European Time Use Survey (HETUS) and the Multinational Time Use Survey (MTUS).
Example: Unpaid work
In all the countries women devote considerably more time to unpaid household work than men. The average amount of time used for unpaid work peaks at childbearing age between 30 and 40 due to childcare and in retirement due to the large amount of time devoted to household work.
Explore and download European NTTA using our NTTA data explorer. To access the data explorer use the panel at the top or the NTTA Data link at the right.

AGENTA and the Global National Transfer Accounts Project

The AGENTA project aims at explaining the past and forecasting the future of taxes and public transfers in the light of demographic change in the European Union. The generation of National Transfer Accounts (NTA) and National Time Transfer Accounts (NTTA) for all EU countries using publicly available and harmonized data is a central part of the project.

The development of the NTA methodology and the construction of accounts is coordinated within the global National Transfer Accounts Project, a collaborative effort of research teams in more than 50 countries. The European NTA is related to the global project, but independent of country-specific research teams and provided in a separate repository. While the accounts created by the national teams take better account of country-specific peculiarities, the AGENTA accounts are more readily comparable across countries and distinguish by gender.

The project recieved funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613247. We acknowledge support from the Joint Programming Initiative - More Years Better Lives.


European National Transfer Accounts 2010

Countries
EU25 Population Avg. refers to the average individual in the 25 included countries.
EU25 Country Avg. to the average over all countries not weighted by population size.
Central NTA Variables
Units
Non-central NTA Variables
For a description of the variables and their abbreviation check the list of NTA variables.
Sex

This plot previews your selection and displays the first 15 of the selceted age profiles.

This plot displays the selected variables for each country.

This plot compares countries by showing a subplot for each selected variable.

The data in wide format (age profile as rows) contains detailed information such as the long variable name and units of measurement for each profile. However, for importing the data into statistical software the long format might be more convenient.

Download in wide format as .csv
The long format (age profiles as columns) is usually more practical for the import and the processing of the data in statistical software.

Download in long format as .csv

Information and Help

Data and Methodology are described in detail in the European NTA manual. The NTA manual of the global NTA project describes the NTA methodology in general.

Citation: We suggest the following citation: Istenič, T., Hammer, B., Šeme, A., Lotrič Dolinar, A., & Sambt, J. (2016). European National Transfer Accounts. Available at: http://www.wittgensteincentre.org/ntadata.

Feedback and Questions: If you encounter problems, have questions or feedback, please send an e-mail to: bernhard.hammer@oeaw.ac.at
The project recieved funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613247. We acknowledge support from the Joint Programming Initiative - More Years Better Lives.


National Time Transfer Accounts

Data Source

Units
Countries

Years


Sex
Variables
For a description of the variables and their abbreviation check the list of NTA variables.

This plot previews your selection and displays the first 15 of the selceted age profiles.

This plot displays the selected variables for each country.
This plot previews your selection. If several countries are selected, it displays a subplot for each country using data from the most recent year. If a single country is selected, it shows the variables for all years.
This plot displays the selected variables for each country.

This plot compares countries by showing a subplot for each selected variable.
This plot previews your selection in subplots for each variable. If several countries are selected, it displays the selected countries using data from the most recent year. If a single country is selected, it shows the selected variables for all years.
This plot compares countries by showing a subplot for each selected variable.

The data in wide format (age profile as row) contains detailed information such as the long variable name and units of measurement for each profile. However, for importing the data into statistical software the long format might be more convenient.

Download in wide format as .csv
The long format (age profiles as columns) is usually more practical for the import and the processing of the data in statistical software.

Download in long format as .csv

Information and Help: HETUS NTTA

For detailed information about the construction and content of NTTA data consult the AGENTA Manual for NTTA.

Variables: The production variables measure the amount of time used for unpaid work and its monetary value at each age. The consumption variables measure the consumption of the goods and services produced through unpaid work. Both, production and consumption, distinguish between household work (e.g. cleaning, cooking, shopping), childcare and inter-household work, which includes unpaid work carried out for other households.

Information and Help: MTUS NTTA

For detailed information about the construction and content of NTTA data consult the AGENTA Manual for NTTA .

Variables: The production variables measure the amount of time used for unpaid work and its monetary value at each age. The consumption variables measure the consumption of the goods and services produced through unpaid work. Both, production and consumption, distinguish between household work (e.g. cleaning, cooking, shopping) and childcare. MTUS allows no distinction between work for the own household and unpaid work for other households.

Information and Help: HETUS Timeuse

The HETUS Timeuse data contains complementary information on the age-specific time use of people. Detailed information on the estimation and the data can be found in the AGENTA Manual for NTTA .

Variables: Education contains the time spent at school, in courses or at university, studying at home as well as the travel time related to these activites. Paid work includes the time at the job and related activities such as commuting and breaks at work. Personal care includes in particular sleeping, eating and body care. Unpaid work includes housework and childcare and in the category leisure are all remaining free-time activities, in particular hobbies, socializing and cultural activities.
Citation: We suggest the following citation: Vargha, L., Šeme, A., Gál, R., I., Hammer, B., Sambt, J. (2016): European National Time Transfer Accounts. Available at: http://www.wittgensteincentre.org/ntadata.

Feedback and Questions: If you encounter problems, have questions or feedback, please send an e-mail to: bernhard.hammer@oeaw.ac.at
The project recieved funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613247. We acknowledge support from the Joint Programming Initiative - More Years Better Lives.


Economic Population Pyramids

Data Source
Economic population pyramides show the distribution of economic quantities by age groups and by gender. They reflect the size of the population, as well as the differences in economic behaviour across age groups and genders. The black dots represent the shape of the demographic population pyramid.
Variable 1
Country
Variable 2 (optional)


Information and Help

For building the population pyramids, download data for Eco-Pop-Pyramids and use the R-code provided at https://github.com/GenerationalEconomy/AGENTA-Eco-Pop-Pyramids

Citation: We suggest the following citation: Istenič, T., Hammer, B., Šeme, A., Lotrič Dolinar, A., & Sambt, J. (2016). European National Transfer Accounts. Available at: http://www.wittgensteincentre.org/ntadata.

Feedback and Questions: If you encounter problems, have questions or feedback, please send an e-mail to: bernhard.hammer@oeaw.ac.at
The project recieved funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613247. We acknowledge support from the Joint Programming Initiative - More Years Better Lives.


Methodology and Variables

NTA methodology and variables

European NTA provide age- and gender-specific data on income, transfers, consumption and saving. The estimation approach is similar for most of the variables:
1. In a first step the European System of Accounts and related data to estimate the aggregate values, i.e. the quantities of income, transfers, consumption and saving for the economy as a whole.
2. In a second step, the distribution of these variables over age groups and genders is estimated using survey data and administrative data.
In the following description of the variables, we give an intuitive interpretation of each variable, including a short description of the aggregate values and the method of estimating the distribution over age groups. For more details please consult the manuals.
Aggregate values:

The Excel file for the aggregate values contains the data that are required for the calculation of NTA aggregate (=total economy) values and shows how the calculations are done.
Abbreviations:
NPISH: Non-Profit Institutions Serving Households. NA: National Accounts. NTA: National Transfer Accounts. NTTA: National Time Transfer Accounts. EU-SILC European Union Statistics of Income and Living Conditions. COFOG: Classifications of the functions of government. COICOP: Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose. HBS: Household Budget Survey.
Central NTA variables
Labour income (YL)
Total income (labour- and asset income) in NTA corresponds largely to Net National Income at basic prices in NA. NTA labour income is the part of total income that can be attributed to labour as a production factor. It can be interpreted as the return to work effort. It includes the compensation of employees (including gross earnings and employers' social contributions) as well as the labour component of mixed income (self-employment labour income). The age distribution of labour income is estimated using the information on the income of employees and the income/losses from self-employment in the EU-SILC cross-sectional data from 2011, where 2010 is the income reference period in most of the countries.
Asset income (YA)
Asset income is the return to capital, the part of Net National Income that can be attributed to capital as a production factor. It consists of net operating surplus, the capital share of mixed income and net property income from the rest of the world. The age distribution is estimated using data on asset income from the EU-SILC cross sectional data from 2011.
Consumption, private (CF)
Private consumption is the consumption expenditure of households and NPISH at basic prices. The basic price of a good is the amount that the producer receives from the purchaser, i.e. less the taxes on products such as VAT. Rents for owner occupied housing are imputed. The distribution over age groups is mainly estimated using EUROSTAT Household Budget Survey from 2010.
Consumption, public (CG)
Public consumption corresponds to the final consumption expenditure of the public sector. In NTA public consumption is treated as transfer from the taxpayers to the beneficiaries of these services and goods. Among the most important components are public education (CGE) and health services (CGH). Collective public consumption (most of CGX) such as defense, expenditure for the police or administration are assigned to individuals independently of their age, since everybody is assumed to consume the same share. The estimation of individual public consumption, such as health and education, is based on various sources - see the specific explanations below for CGE, CGH and CGX.
Net transfers, private (TF)
Net transfers are defined as transfer inflows (transfers received by individuals) minus transfer outflows (transfers paid by individuals). Private transfers consist of two components, transfers between households and transfers within households. The level of transfers within households, particularly the transfers from parents to children, are much higher than the transfers between households. They are not captured in NA. Therefore, their estimation is based on assumptions about the consumption of children and on age- and gender-specific data on income.
Net transfers, public (TG)
Net public transfers is the differences between the inflows (benefits) and outflows (contributions) of transfers that are mediated by the public sector. The most important public transfer inflows are pensions, education, health services and general public services. The outflows consist mainly of taxes and social contributions.
Saving (S)
Saving measures correspond to saving in NA. In NTA, age-specific saving is estimated as difference between disposable income and consumption.
Additional NTA variables
YLE, labour income, employees
NTA distinguishes between labour income of employees and the labour income of self-employed persons. The income of employees corresponds to the compensation of employees in NA, the age distribution is based on EU-SILC micro data.
YLS, labour income, self-employed
Income of self-employed persons contains the return to the invested capital and the return to the labour. In NTA the labour component is assumed to be 2/3 of total mixed income in NA. The age distribution is based on EU-SILC data.
YAF, asset income, private
Private asset income is the return on capital owned by domestic institutional units. NTA asset income corresponds largely to net operating surplus, net property income from the rest of the world and the asset part of mixed income (1/3 of mixed income). It is important to note that only part of NTA asset income is received by households and ready to be used for consumption or transfers. The firms retain a large part of the operating surplus for investments. In NTA, this part shows up as asset income and saving of individuals. The age distribution of private asset income is based on EU SILC data.
YAG, asset income, public
The public sector receives returns on its assets and pays interest on liabilities. In 2010 public asset income was negative in all included countries except Luxembourg and consist mainly of interest payments on public debt. The age distribution of public asset income is based on the age profiles of taxes and social contributions.
CFE, Consumption, private, education
Private consumption expenditure for education includes mainly fees for classes and courses. The aggregate value is calculated using consumption expenditure according to COICOP from Eurostat. The age distribution is based on HBS data.
CFH, Consumption, private, health
CFH contains the private consumption expenditure for health. The aggregate value is calculated using consumption expenditure according to COICOP from Eurostat. The age distribution is based on HBS data and takes into account the higher health expenditure of older household members.
CFX, Consumption, private, other
CFX includes all other components of private consumption other than health and education. The age distribution is mainly based on HBS data.
CGE, Consumption, public, education
Public consumption expenditure for education consists of consumption expenditure for formal education, but also of the expenditure for general educational programmes. The aggregate value is based on COFOG. The age distribution is estimated using data on level-specific enrollment by age and by gender and level-specific expenditure.
CGH, Consumption, public, health
Public health care consumption expenditure is among the biggest components of public consumption. The aggregate value is based on public consumption expenditure according to COFOG. The age-specific data are provided by the Ageing Working Group of the European Commission (The 2012 Ageing Report). For some countries the average age profile is used as an approximation.
CGX, Consumption, public, other
Other public consumption consists of expenditure not for health or education. Only a small component of this expenditure is individual consumption. The collective consumption is equally distributed among individuals. It is assumed that each person consumes the same amount, independently of age and gender.
TFB, net transfers between households
Net transfers between households (also called inter household transfers) contain all transfers between households that are mediated by the private sector: households, firms and NPISH. These transfers include alimony payments, remittances, support of children living in another household, transfers through NPISH as well as non-public social contributions and benefits. The age distribution is based on EU-SILC.
TFW, net transfers within households
In order to estimate transfers within households (also called intra-household transfers), it is assumed that household members that who are not able to finance their consumption with their own labour income or public transfer benefits are supported by other household members and the household head (e.g. parents financing the consumption of their children). A detailed description of the method is provided in the manual.
TGI, transfer inflows, public
TGI include benefits from public transfer programmes. Public transfer inflows include public consumption as well as cash transfers, such as pensions.
TGO, transfer outflows, public
TGO consist of the contributions to the public transfer system, mainly in form of taxes and social contributions.
SF, saving, private
Private saving is estimated as the difference between consumption and disposable income. Disposable income is calculated as sum of labour income, asset income and net transfer benefits.
SG, saving, public
Saving of the public sector is assigned to individuals according to their age- and gender-specific contributions to the transfer system.
C, consumption, total
C is total consumption, the sum of public and private consumption.
LCD, life cycle deficit
The life cycle deficit is defined as the difference between total consumption and labour income. It equals total age reallocations in the form of transfers and asset-based reallocations.
RA, age reallocations
Age reallocations are defined as transfers and asset-based reallocations.
T, transfers, total
T stands for the sum of net public and private transfers.
NTTA variables
NTTA are based on time use surveys and contain information of age- and gender-specific production, transfers and consumption of services produced through unpaid work. NTTA capture production activities that are not recorded in NA. It mainly consists of services that are produced by households for their own use, or provided to other households free of charge. NTTA are measured in minutes per day as well as in monetary terms with base year 2002.
Production, total (PT)
Total time use for unpaid production of households that is not captured in NA.
Production, housework (PHW)
The biggest components of housework are food preparation/cooking, cleaning, shopping and doing the laundry.
Production, childcare (PCH)
All childcare activities are included in childcare production, including basic care, health care, learning with the child and playing with the child.
Production, inter-household (PIH)
Production done for other households are included in the inter-household category. This amount is very small compared to unpaid labour done for own households.
Consumption, total (CT)
The sum of housework, childcare and inter-household production.
Consumption, housework (CHW)
Assuming that each household member consumes the same share of housework services, the consumption of housework is distributed using equal shares.
Consumption, childcare (CCH)
Production of childcare is distributed to the children within the household, assigning a larger share of childcare to younger children.
Consumption, inter-household (CIH)
Consumption of services provided to other households free of charge is distributed by age and gender according to the consumption pattern of services produced and consumed within households.
Other time use variables
Paid work
The category paid work includes the time use associated with paid work, including commuting and breaks at work.
Unpaid work
Unpaid work consist mainly of household maintenance and childcare.
Leisure
All type of leisure activities, including sport, social activities, hobbies.
Personal care
Personal care includes sleeping, eating, personal hygiene, getting dressed.
The project recieved funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 613247. We acknowledge support from the Joint Programming Initiative - More Years Better Lives.