Source
Source Contact person/organisation Contact person/organisationIn this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Data Characteristics Data Characteristics Other data characteristics Other data characteristicsDisposable income, as a concept, is closer to the concept of income generally understood than either national income or GDP. At the total economy level it differs from national income in that additional income items are included, mainly other current transfers such as remittances. For countries where these additional items form significant sources of income the importance of focusing on disposable income in formulating policy is clear. Another important difference between national income and disposable income concerns the allocation of income across sectors. At this level significant differences arise, reflecting the reallocation of national income. Disposable income can be seen as the maximum amount that a unit can afford to spend on consumption goods or services without having to reduce its financial or non-financial assets or by increasing its liabilities.
A better mechanism for international comparisons when focusing on households' "income" is adjusted disposable income because it takes into account transfers in-kind such as government provided education and health.
Concepts & Classifications Concepts & Classifications Key statistical concept Key statistical conceptDefinition
Household disposable income is the sum of wages and salaries, gross operating surplus (income earned from renting a dwelling or the imputed rental income of owner-occupiers), mixed income, net property income, net current transfers and social benefits other than social transfers in kind, less taxes on income and wealth and social security contributions paid by employees (including social contributions payable by employers), the self-employed, and the unemployed. Household adjusted disposable income additionally reallocates "income" from government and NPISHs to households to reflect social transfers in kind. These transfers reflect expenditures made by government or NPISHs on individual goods and services, such as health and education, on behalf of an individual household.
Other manipulations Other manipulationsIndicator B6GS14_S15HCPC shows household gross adjusted disposable income per capita. Indicator B6NS14_S15DEFG shows annual growth in household net (adjusted) disposable income in real terms (with nominal values deflated by the total household final consumption deflator). Indicator B7NS14_S15VIXOB shows indexed to 2001 growth for GDP and growth in adjusted disposable income, both in real terms (with nominal values deflated by the GDP deflator and actual individual consumption deflator respectively) for Euro Area, the United States, Japan, and Canada.
Other Aspects Other Aspects Recommended uses and limitations Recommended uses and limitationsComparability
Comparability is good but there are practical difficulties in the measurement of the additional income components, such as remittances, that make up the difference between GDP and disposable income (including adjusted). It is for that reason that GDP per capita is the most widely used indicator of income or welfare, even though it is theoretically inferior, in that context, to measures of disposable income.
Both measures of disposable income include the payments of pension contributions to pension schemes and to social security and the receipts of pensions from pension schemes and social security. The SNA prescribes this treatment as it aligns better with the individual's concept of income and comes despite the fact that payments of pension contributions into the schemes and the receipts of pensions by pensioners constitute the acquisition and disposal of financial assets (see also Household net saving, B8NS14_S15SB6NS14). Not all countries however include these particular flows into and out of pension schemes as parts of disposable income and so comparability at the sectorial level is affected, albeit only marginally.
In this dataset, almost all OECD countries compile their data according to 2008 System of National Account (SNA).
The link to the file "ANA_changes.xls" is available for users to provide more information on where OECD countries and non member countries stand regarding the change over the 2008 SNA.
The readers' guide gives general information on the dataset and withheld criteria for this dataset.
Disposable income, as a concept, is closer to the concept of income generally understood than either national income or GDP. At the total economy level it differs from national income in that additional income items are included, mainly other current transfers such as remittances. For countries where these additional items form significant sources of income the importance of focusing on disposable income in formulating policy is clear. Another important difference between national income and disposable income concerns the allocation of income across sectors. At this level significant differences arise, reflecting the reallocation of national income. Disposable income can be seen as the maximum amount that a unit can afford to spend on consumption goods or services without having to reduce its financial or non-financial assets or by increasing its liabilities.
A better mechanism for international comparisons when focusing on households' "income" is adjusted disposable income because it takes into account transfers in-kind such as government provided education and health.
Definition
Household disposable income is the sum of wages and salaries, gross operating surplus (income earned from renting a dwelling or the imputed rental income of owner-occupiers), mixed income, net property income, net current transfers and social benefits other than social transfers in kind, less taxes on income and wealth and social security contributions paid by employees (including social contributions payable by employers), the self-employed, and the unemployed. Household adjusted disposable income additionally reallocates "income" from government and NPISHs to households to reflect social transfers in kind. These transfers reflect expenditures made by government or NPISHs on individual goods and services, such as health and education, on behalf of an individual household.
Indicator B6GS14_S15HCPC shows household gross adjusted disposable income per capita. Indicator B6NS14_S15DEFG shows annual growth in household net (adjusted) disposable income in real terms (with nominal values deflated by the total household final consumption deflator). Indicator B7NS14_S15VIXOB shows indexed to 2001 growth for GDP and growth in adjusted disposable income, both in real terms (with nominal values deflated by the GDP deflator and actual individual consumption deflator respectively) for Euro Area, the United States, Japan, and Canada.
Comparability
Comparability is good but there are practical difficulties in the measurement of the additional income components, such as remittances, that make up the difference between GDP and disposable income (including adjusted). It is for that reason that GDP per capita is the most widely used indicator of income or welfare, even though it is theoretically inferior, in that context, to measures of disposable income.
Both measures of disposable income include the payments of pension contributions to pension schemes and to social security and the receipts of pensions from pension schemes and social security. The SNA prescribes this treatment as it aligns better with the individual's concept of income and comes despite the fact that payments of pension contributions into the schemes and the receipts of pensions by pensioners constitute the acquisition and disposal of financial assets (see also Household net saving, B8NS14_S15SB6NS14). Not all countries however include these particular flows into and out of pension schemes as parts of disposable income and so comparability at the sectorial level is affected, albeit only marginally.