Data anomalies and their impact on EU income poverty indicators – Evidence from Hungarian EU-SILC data

Poverty indicators such as the at-risk-of-poverty rate and the relative poverty gap are widely used across Europe, but they are only as reliable as the microdata behind them. In our analysis of EU-SILC data from 2005–2023, Hungary stands out with striking anomalies. In several survey waves, unusually many incomes cluster exactly at the poverty threshold—for instance, in 2020, 14% of single-person households reported the same annual income of €3,996. Since these values often fall just above the cut-off, official poverty rates may underestimate the true scale of poverty.We also observe implausible patterns in gross and disposable income, with net income exceeding gross income in up to 29% of Hungarian records. As external researchers, we cannot evaluate internal procedures at the statistical office, but our findings—based solely on public microdata—underline the importance of transparent metadata and documentation.We would welcome ideas and discussion that illustrate how DDI-based research data management would be useful in identifying such data quality anomalies prior to its release.