The above results were taken from a special survey of consumption conducted by the Federal Statistical Office on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Finance. The aim was to determine what effect the measures taken under the economic stimulus package 2020 had on households. The focus was on whether and how the temporary reduction of value added tax (VAT) and the child bonus influenced the consumption behaviour of households.
An external institute conducted the monthly online surveys in the form of five waves from August to December 2020. Each month, roughly 4,200 people provided information on their households on a voluntary basis. Only households that were entitled to children’s allowance in 2020 answered the questions relating to the child bonus.
The surveys used quota samples of representative households, the respondents were aged 18 to 74 years. The microcensus 2019 served as a reference for the quotas and for extrapolation purposes. There are both sampling and non-sampling errors with this type of survey. Generally, it has to be noted that quota samples involve distortions of variables which are not part of the quotas and the extrapolation frame.
All data, including income information, are based on respondents’ self-assessments. Respondents were asked how they intended to use this (additional) disposable household income. What has actually been done with the money may differ from what respondents said they intended to do with it, and it may change in the course of time. This refers to the questions about both the VAT reduction and the child bonus. To what extent the measures of the economic stimulus package actually enhanced private consumption or reduced the financial burden on households can therefore not be directly inferred form the survey. It does not provide information on the amounts spent or saved under the measures of the economic stimulus package, either.
The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) conducted the survey on the basis of Section 3 (1) no. 16 of the Federal Statistics Act (BStatG).
