Data and methodological information
Methodological information
The Consumer Expectations Survey is a mixed frequency modular survey, conducted online. The survey structure and data collection provide timely quantitative and qualitative euro area information that facilitate direct cross-country comparisons. The methodology used in the survey is explained in further detail below.
CES aggregate statistics
The main aggregate results of the CES are published on the ECB’s website in the last 10 days of every month. The dataset available in this section of the CES webpages contains all the figures on which the four topical reports from the “Latest results” section are based. The indicators included in these reports cover the main areas for which the survey regularly gathers information, either on a monthly or quarterly basis. For more information on how these aggregate indicators are computed, please refer to the guide below.
Aggregate statistics data set (includes 11 euro area countries)
Aggregate statistics data set (includes 6 euro area countries until December 2023)
CES microdata
Since November 2022, the CES microdata is published on the ECB’s website following a quarterly release schedule. They are individual-level datasets structured according to the survey modules: background, monthly and quarterly. Furthermore, the monthly and quarterly files are split by year. Metadata information on variable names, value labels and the number of observations in each survey round is also provided. The microdata guide below provides a comprehensive overview of all the variables currently included in the available set of microdata. With the 2024 Q2 release, microdata includes an updated set of personal panel IDs without any further implications for users.
The CES microdata are collected and anonymised by IPSOS public affairs. In addition, the ECB conducts its own confidentiality analysis to ensure that personal information cannot be used to match respondents to external sources and that all data are published in a manner compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
All published and unpublished analysis and research conducted using the CES microdata should cite the following official source: ECB Consumer Expectations Survey.
To help the CES team keep track of research that makes use of the CES, all research publications are kindly requested to include the keyword “Consumer Expectations Survey” on the title page, together with references to the following two publications in the relevant part of the paper explaining the sources of the data:
- ECB (2021), “ECB Consumer Expectations Survey: an overview and first evaluation”, Occasional Paper Series, No 287, December.
- Georgarakos, D. and Kenny, G. (2022), “Household spending and fiscal support during the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from a new consumer survey”, Journal of Monetary Economics, Vol. 129, Supplement, pp. S1-S14.
Researchers and users of the CES microdata are also invited to share their project plans and/or results with the CES project team (ECB-CES@ecb.europa.eu).