No. 1008 - Bounds for timely estimates of average household income

Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional papers)
by Domenico Depalo and David Loschiavo
April 2026
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Many sample surveys make it possible to obtain information on the income brackets to which the households included in the sample belong and, for some of them, also the exact level of income. This work proposes a methodology that uses that information to promptly estimate an interval within which the average household income lies, obtaining robust estimates that are free from distortions arising from nonresponses before the release of the official data.

Using data from the 2023 Household Outlook Survey and the 2022 Survey on Household Income and Wealth conducted by Banca d'Italia, the study shows that, as early as May 2024, it would have been possible to estimate the average household income for 2023 within an interval of between 28,602 and 31,460 euros. This interval includes the official estimate (31,356 euros) published almost a year later, in March 2025.

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  1. 21 April 2026
    No. 1008 - Bounds for timely estimates of average household income
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