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(b) National and International Data Availability and Sources: At the national
level the most important source of data on disposable income (private consumption)
and structure of consumption is household surveys. The results of these surveys can
be obtained from reports published by national statistical agencies. About two-thirds
of
the developing
countries have conducted sample household surveys that are
representative nationally, and some of these provide high-quality data on living
standards. These surveys are carried out on an irregular basis and may be targeted to
specific income groups or geographic areas. Generally, data on the detailed structure
of consumption in low- and middle-income economies are weak.
In some countries,
surveys are limited to urban areas or even to capital cities and so do not reflect
national spending patterns. Urban surveys tend to show lower-than-average shares for
food and higher-than-average shares for gross rent, fuel and power, transport and
communications, and other consumption.
Data can also be obtained from international agencies
such as the World Bank and
from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which carries out its own
surveys of households. Household consumption structure, including the share of
household income spent on fuel and power, was reported by the World Bank in the
2000
edition of the World Development Indicators. Data for developed countries can
be obtained from Eurostat and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD). Data from the European Community Household Panel are
currently available for 1995 and 1996.
Data on household energy use are also available from the International Energy
Agency (IEA). However, until the early 1980s, the household
or residential sector was
not well distinguished from the service/commercial sector in OECD energy statistics,
particularly for liquid and solid fuels. In OECD countries, this distinction is now
common. In developing countries, data often distinguish between residential and
commercial consumption
of electricity and natural gas, but users of liquid and solid
fuels are often not accurately identified. Many national energy balances thus fail to
distinguish between the residential and service/commercial sectors. Such problems are
indicated when data show electricity and natural gas consumption for both the
residential and service/commercial sectors, while liquid and solid fuel consumption is
shown for only one of the two sectors.
Household fuel and electricity prices in developed countries are generally available, both
nationally and internationally (OECD, Eurostat), but the availability
of price data varies
from one country to another. For developing countries, data may be available from
national sources.
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