Questionnaire

The HFCS questionnaire was developed by a network of euro area experts and therefore drafted in English. We subsequently adapted it to the situation in Austria and had it translated into German.

The questionnaire consists of ten interview sections, as illustrated by the chart below. Two additional sections had to be completed by the interviewer (one before and one after the household interview).

The blue panels indicate questions which relate to the individual household members. Those questions are meant to provide data on general characteristics such as age, gender, educational attainment and the like; employment status and type of job; income and future pension entitlements; and views on current issues in the monetary policy debate.

The green panels indicate questions which refer to the situation of the household as a whole, such as consumption expenditure, housing conditions and ownership patterns, loans outstanding, the portfolio of financial assets, and inheritances and gifts.

The two orange panels relate to administrative interview details to be documented by the interviewer.

The questionnaire design allows researchers to establish a comprehensive asset profile of households in Austria using information that has become available for the first time. Looking ahead, these data provide essential input for the development of monetary policy measures and for measures to maintain financial stability.

For detailed information on the questionnaire used for the first wave of the HFCS in Austria, see the methodological notes.