Multidimensional Impacts of the Change in the Head of Household Methodology in Living Conditions Survey in Czechia

From 2023 onwards, the head of household in the Living Conditions Survey is the person with the highest income. The article analyzes the impact of this methodological change in determining the head of household in the Czech Republic's version of the EU-SILC survey. The shift from traditional criteria, such as gender or age, to identifying the head of household based on the highest income earner, has led to certain changes in the structure of households in terms of gender, age, education or economic activity. The change has resulted in an increase in female heads of households and in heads of households with higher education. This has also led to shifts in household income categorization, particularly affecting non-working and pensioner households. While income variability decreased for employee and pensioner households, it increased for the self-employed. Overall, the new methodology aims to better reflect contemporary household dynamics and aligns with broader efforts to harmonize household survey methodologies.