DNB Household Survey (DHS)
The DNB Household Survey is a unique data set allowing you to study both psychological and economic aspects of financial behaviour. This panel survey was launched in 1993 and comprises information on work, pensions, housing, mortgages, income, assets, loans, health, economic and psychological concepts, and personal characteristics. We have been collecting these data from 2,000 households participating in the CentERpanel.
The CentERpanel is an Internet panel that reflects the composition of the Dutch-speaking population. Participants who do not have Internet access are provided with a Net.Box by CentERdata, allowing them to access the Internet through their televisions. Households that do not have a TV set are given one by CentERdata. If they have any questions or need technical advice, panel members can contact the helpdesk.
The panel members complete a questionnaire once a week without the intervention of an interviewer. This has the major advantage of allowing respondents to answer questions at their own convenience. Moreover, they will have all documents they need (annual statement, bank balance statement) at hand.
The codebooks and descriptives can be viewed on the DHS Codebooks page. The DHS data itself are available through the database: Six questionnairesThe DHS consists of six questionnaires.
1 Work and Pensions
We submit the Work and Pensions questionnaire to respondents who are or were engaged in paid employment. The questionnaire contains questions on their current or previous employer, their position, type of employment contract, employment periods, the number of hours a week they would like to be or are engaged in paid employment, and whether they are looking for another job. It also contains questions on pension funds and supplementary pension schemes.
2 Housing and Mortgages
This questionnaire asks one person from each household for information about their current and previous home. Do they rent or own their home, what type of house is it, how many rooms does it have, what about rent, housing benefit, and mortgage? Which financial institution provides the mortgage, what type of mortgage is it, what is the remaining sum, the agreed interest rate, the fixed interest rate period, the agreed term of the mortgage, and what are the instalments?
3 Income and Health
All household members aged sixteen or over receive detailed questions on their source of income: income from paid employment, income from self-employment, pension schemes, sick pay, allowances, and other sources of income. In addition, the questionnaire contains questions on tax returns, inheritances, bequests, interest received and paid, child support payments, parental contributions towards their children’s education, health insurance, and company cars. Respondents are also asked what they consider high or low income levels. Health questions pertain to length, weight, alcohol intake, smoking, respondents’ perception of their own health, and life expectancy.
4 Assets and Debts
Assets have been itemized into twenty different components and debts into eight components (Table 1). The value of all assets is estimated. Depending on the type of asset, this questionnaire then includes questions on the name of the financial institution where the product was purchased, instalments, interest percentages, etc. The questions on debts are comparable to these. assets
current accounts
company savings accounts
savings and deposit accounts
savings account records
savings certificates
single-premium insurance policies and annuity insurance
savings insurance and endowment insurance
stocks
government securities or securities accounts
bonds or mortgage bonds
shares
put options bought
put options written
call options bought
call options written
real estate not intended for private occupation
mortgages on real estate not intended for private occupation
cars
motor bikes
yachts
caravans
money owed to family and friends
other possessions
debts
personal loans
revolving credit
financing credit
debts with mail order companies etc.
loans with family and friends
student loans
credits on credit cards
other loans
5 and 6 Economic and Psychological Concepts
In 2000, we decided to split the questionnaire on economic and psychological concepts into two parts on the basis of its length. The following subjects are dealt with: the household income, projected income, saving inclination and saving behaviour, people’s perception of their personal financial situation when compared to other people’s financial situation, risk perception and risk aversion, expectation for the future when compared to current situation, financial planning, and personal characteristics.
Dependent variables
In order to facilitate analysis of income and possessions, these data have been aggregated into ‘total income per component’ and ‘total possession per component’ for all respondents. On the basis of the different income components, we then calculated total gross and net income on the individual level. |
