Living Standards Measurements Study - Serbia 2002 - 2007

2.5. Conclusion
1. From 2002 – 2007 a significant growth in
household income and expenditure was
recorded. The nominal growth in income of 95.4
percent and in expenditure of 113.9 percent
corresponds to the real growth in income of
about 14 percent and expenditure of about 25
percent.
2. At the same time, changes have occurred both in
the structure of income and the structure of
expenditure. As for the income structure, the
share of income from employment and pensions
has increased, while income from agriculture and
income in kind have declined. As far as
expenditure structure is concerned, the share of
food and beverage costs, as well as the costs of
housing, water, power supply, gas and other
fuels are still the highest, however, they show a
declining trend.
3. The largest share in the income structure in the
lowest decile is attributable to pensions, while in
the wealthiest decile the largest portion of
income is generated from employment.
4. A high share of the income from agriculture and
income in kind is characteristic for the 10
percent poorest households as viewed by deciles
of income.
5. Analyzing the income and expenditure structures
by area we can identify the expected differences,
which are most diverse when comparing the
households in the City of Belgrade and those in
Central Serbia.
6. The indicators of inequality (9/1 decile, Gini
coefficient) show a more balanced distribution of
the expenditure of households as opposed to
their income.
7. The average household in Serbia has a monthly
income of 43 569 dinars, whereas, the average
monthly household expenditure amounts to 52
843 dinars, which is almost one fifth (21%) more
than the income. Surveys which collect
household income and expenditure data are
characterised by an underestimation of income in
relation to expenditure. As stated, households
avoid declaring their income because of mistrust
in the confidentiality of survey data, concern
about taxation bodies, etc. In addition,
households avoid declaring incomes from semilegal
or illegal sources, which is not the case for
expenditure from these sources.
Endnotes, Part 2
1 In calculating the depreciation of agricultural machines, the
depreciation rates from 2002 were applied.
2 In calculating the depreciation of agricultural machines, the
depreciation rates from 2002 were applied.
3 The calculation of the real growth rate was made based on the
living cost index for June 2007/June 2002.
Income and expenditure
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