Equivalisation

It is an economical method where household individuals are given various weightings, and an income is then produced by dividing the sum of the weightings by the total household income. 

Author: Christy Grimste
Christy Grimste
Christy Grimste
Real Estate | Investment Property Sales

Christy currently works as a senior associate for EdR Trust, a publicly traded multi-family REIT. Prior to joining EdR Trust, Christy works for CBRE in investment property sales. Before completing her MBA and breaking into finance, Christy founded and education startup in which she actively pursued for seven years and works as an internal auditor for the U.S. Department of State and CIA.

Christy has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland and a Master of Business Administrations from the University of London.

Reviewed By: Elliot Meade
Elliot Meade
Elliot Meade
Private Equity | Investment Banking

Elliot currently works as a Private Equity Associate at Greenridge Investment Partners, a middle market fund based in Austin, TX. He was previously an Analyst in Piper Jaffray's Leveraged Finance group, working across all industry verticals on LBOs, acquisition financings, refinancings, and recapitalizations. Prior to Piper Jaffray, he spent 2 years at Citi in the Leveraged Finance Credit Portfolio group focused on origination and ongoing credit monitoring of outstanding loans and was also a member of the Columbia recruiting committee for the Investment Banking Division for incoming summer and full-time analysts.

Elliot has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Columbia University.

Last Updated:October 25, 2023

What is Equivalisation?

Equivalisation is an economical method where household individuals are given various weightings. A representative income is then produced by dividing the sum of the weightings by the total household income. 

Equivalisation scales are typically employed for comparison to modifying household income, considering the size and makeup of the household view equalizing as well. 

The concept of economies of scale can be used for various organizational and business problems at multiple levels, such as a production line, a facility, or even an entire industry. 

When output increases and average costs fall, economies of scale begin to occur. Economies of scale refer to that point when the per unit cost of a product lowers as a firm grows since now it can cover more of its fixed costs

There are several scale economies, like lower production costs. 

Percentile points are the income levels used to split the UK population into ten equal-sized groups based on equivalised household income. 

Decile and decile groups are sometimes used interchangeably, and "the bottom decile" refers to the bottom 10% of the income distribution. The population is divided into these subgroups using decile points. 

The bottom 10% of the income distribution makes up the lowest decile group. People in the second decile are those whose incomes are between the double and lowest decile points but higher than either.

Key Takeaways

  • Equivalisation is an economical method where household individuals are given various weightings.
  • Then, a representative income is produced by dividing the sum of the weightings by the total household income. 
  • The concept of economies of scale can be used for various organizational and business problems at multiple levels.
  • When output increases and average costs fall, economies of scale begin to occur. 
  • Economies of scale refer to that point when the per unit cost of a product as a firm grows.
  • Equivalisation scales are typically employed for comparison to modifying household income, considering the size and makeup of the household view equalizing as well. 
  • Percentile points are the income levels used to split the UK population into ten equal-sized groups based on equivalised household income. 
  • Decile and decile groups are sometimes used interchangeably, and "the bottom decile" refers to the bottom 10% of the income distribution. The population is divided into these subgroups using decile points. 
  • Weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income is the income metric used in HBAI. 
  • Every household member's entire annual income, including those with dependents, is included in this.
  • Equivalence scales are used to adjust income for household size and composition.

OECD Equivalence Scale

Additionally known as the "Oxford scale" and the "old OECD scale," In the 1980s, the OECD raised the possibility of using this method in nations without a formal scale.

This scale assigns 1 to the first adult, 0.7 for the second and every succeeding person who is 14 years old or older, and 0.5 for each kid under the age of 14.

The European Union's Statistical Office also employs the OECD-modified scale, widely used throughout Europe (Eurostat). 

It adjusts household income to account for the differential resource requirements of children of different ages and single adults, other people living in the home, and any other individuals.

Each family member is initially assigned an equivalent value before equivalised income is calculated using the modified OECD equivalence scale: 1 to the first adult, 0.5 to the second, and every succeeding person who is 14 years old or older than 0.7 as according to the old scale, and 0.3 to each kid under the age of 14 rather than 0.5

Economies of scale are the cost advantages that businesses gain because of their microeconomics operation size. They are commonly quantified by the amount of product generated each time.

An expansion in scale is made possible by a drop in the cost per unit of output. Technical, statistical, organizational, or other relevant variables to the level of market control may be at the core of economies of scale. This only provides a brief overview of the idea.

Economies of scale can be used for various organizational and commercial issues at different levels, such as production, facility, or an entire company. 

Economies of scale occur when average costs decrease as output rises—several scale economies, such as capital manufacturing costs.

Square root equivalence scale

A scale that divides household income by the square root of household size is used in recent OECD publications (such as OECD 2011, OECD 2008) that compare income inequality and poverty across nations. 

This suggests that a home of four people, for example, has demanded twice more than a household made up of only one person.

On the other hand, some OECD country reviews, particularly for Non-Member Economies, employ equivalent scales that are in use in each nation.

An indicator of sampling error is the confidence interval. For example, the range that averages 19 times out of 20 makes up a 95% confidence interval for an estimate. 

Please note that this disregards any potential systematic errors that may have occurred throughout the survey and analysis processes.

When the population of the United Kingdom is divided into ten equal-sized groups according to equivalised household income, decile points are the income values that do so. 

The phrase "the bottom decile" denotes the bottom 10% of the income distribution and is another way that decile is sometimes used interchangeably with decile groups. 

The decile points serve to categorize the population into these subgroups. For example, the 10% population with the lowest incomes makes up the lowest decile group. 

People having salaries that are higher than the lowest decile point but lower than the second decile point are included in the second decile category.

Equivalised Household Income and Inequality

The method by which household income is modified by household size and composition to approximate material living standards. The number of individuals, dependents, and ages are considered when calculating household equivalence factors, which divide household incomes.

This calculation is internationally recognized and is an extensively used summary index of inequality. 

Its possible values range from 0 to 100; a few 0 would denote complete equality, with each home receiving an equal portion of the income, while higher values represent increasing disparity. 

Any sub-group isolated from the population and ranked according to equivalised household income is known as a quantile group. 
Quantile groups, often known as quantiles, include decile and quintile groups. 

When the population of the United Kingdom is divided into five equal-sized groups according to equivalised household income, this division is known as the quintile. 

The 20th percentile corresponds to the lowest quintile. 

Additionally, "quintile" is frequently used as a colloquial name for the quintile group, as in the phrase "the bottom quintile" to refer to the bottom 20% of the income distribution.

As for the monetary situation for this research, households are categorized based on an evaluation of the employment status of all working-age adults and working pensioners living in the household.

For example, non-working pensioners are not considered in the assessment, except for households where children solely reside with pensioners, in which case the status of all adults is considered. 

Three categories are used to group people. First, if there are no working-age adults in the family, at least one working pensioner must be employed or self-employed for the household to be considered to have all adults in work. 

A home where at least one working-age adult is employed or self-employed, or where a pensioner is employed if no working-age individuals are present, qualifies as having at least one employed adult but not all of them.

Equivalised Household Income Metrics

An equivalised income number, such as a percentage of the median income for 2010–2011 or a portion of current median income, is used to compare different parts of an income distribution through time or to compare the proportions of other groups. 

A relative threshold is about the current median for each survey year. A defined threshold is calculated using the median from an "anchor" year, which is then appropriately adjusted for inflation. 

For instance, the absolute criterion of "60% of the 2010/11 median income" in 2010/11 is the same as the relative threshold. 

Still, the comparable number in the most recent survey year has increased due to inflation from the 2010/11 level throughout the intervening period.

Weekly net (disposable) equivalised household income is the income metric used in HBAI. 

Every household member's entire annual income, including those with dependents, is included in this.

Equivalence scales are used to adjust income for household size and composition. 

These scales show the degree to which households of varying sizes and compositions require different income levels to obtain the same standard of living

The term "equivalised income" is used to describe this adjusted income. 

A change was made to the 1995–1996 dataset and subsequent datasets to better account for additional loans taken out for purposes other than buying a home when calculating mortgage interest payments.

Negative BHC incomes are reset to zero, although negative AHC incomes derived from the adjusted BHC incomes are also conceivable. 

When earnings have been set to zero BHC, income AHC is generated from the adjusted BHC income.

The following expenses like rent (gross of housing benefit); water rates, council water charges, and community water charges; mortgage interest payments; structural insurance premiums (for owner occupiers); ground rent, and service fees.

There are no upfront water fees for homes in Northern Ireland; water is provided through taxation. Because of this, it is already considered in the Before Housing Costs metric.

The HBAI results are compiled using a variety of additional definitions. The key definitions are explained here. Everyone over 16, unless they are a dependent child, is part of the Family Resources Survey; all adults in the household are interviewed. 

A married couple, a single adult, and any dependent children are all included in the same benefit unit as are same-sex partners as of January 2006. A person under the age of 16 is considered a dependent child. 

A person will also be considered a dependent child if they are 16 to 19 years old, unmarried, not in a civil partnership, not living with a partner, living with their parents, enrolled full-time in a non-advanced course of study, or doing unpaid government training. 

The husband was always the head of the household in a home that solely included a wife, a child under 16, and any boarders.

Household Headship and Income Metrics

The male spouse has always been treated as the head of the household when a couple has been documented as cohabiting or living together.

Apart from cases where a husband always takes precedence, the person in whose name the residence was owned or rented is taken as the head in all instances where there are other relatives in the family or when some or all the members of the household are unrelated. 

When housing is offered in exchange for a job or is made available without payment for whatever reason, the recipient is the head. There are times when multiple people will claim to be the head. 

In these situations, the oldest person—whether they are of the same sex or not—shall be the head.

A combined measure of low income and material deprivation for children uses a prevalence weighted score from the material deprivation questions along with a 70% of median relative low-income criterion, Before Housing Costs. 

If a child lives in a family with a score of 25 or higher and a household income below this limit, the family has deemed low income and material deprivation.  

For men born before April 6, 1959, the State Pension age is 65. The State Pension Age for women would be 60 if they were born on or before April 5, 1950. 

The State Pension Age for women born on or after April 6, 1950, will gradually rise between April 2010 and November 2018, starting on April 6, 2010. The State Pension Age for both men and women will increase in December 2018 and reach 66 in October 2020. 

Based on their date of birth and the interview, women are of State Pension age for the 2011–12 statistics. A person who has reached the State Pension age or older is considered a pensioner. 

The combined measure of severe low income and material deprivation for children uses a prevalence weighted score from the material deprivation questions along with a 50% of median relative low-income criterion, Before Housing Costs. 

If a child lives in a family with a score of 25 or more and the household income is below this amount, the family is said to be in meager income and material deprivation. For various analyses, individuals may be grouped according to family structure or economic position.

According to the benefit unit's status where a person resides, that person is categorized. Therefore, each person (adults and children) within a benefit unit will be assigned the same classification. The following are definitions for the varieties. 

Benefit households where the respondent considers themselves working full-time and at least one adult typically works as self-employed in their primary occupation. 

They are categorized as full-time self-employed if they haven't worked in the previous seven days but have been engaged in unpaid work for their firm.

Researched and Authored by Antra Sharma | LinkedIn

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