Sweden Finland Austria

APPENDIX 1
Documentation of family type (APW) 
calculations for the 8 countries studied, 1997
The calculations of the effects of social security benefits and taxation are based upon
OECD’s ’The Tax/Benefit Position of Production Workers’, an annual publication show-
ing disposable income for ’The Average Production Worker’, the APW, in the member
countries. The latest publication used in this study is the 1997 edition, covering the years
1995-1996. This publication is now called 
The Tax/Benefit Position of Employees'.
Two APWs are used, one is the single worker just as in the OECD publication, the other
is a couple where both spouses have an income (the husband has the income of the single
APW, the wife has 50 per cent of that). OECD now has a considerable variation in income,
both for the single and the couple. In this study there is, as mentioned, only two income
levels, one for the single person and another for the couple. ’Our’ APW-couple has a
varying number of children, OECD’s has none or two. The APW is thus a simplified,
stylized family type. The basis for the calculations is 1996 data for the APW from OECD´s
publication. These have been projected to 1997 level by national estimates because 1997
is the ’calculation year’ for the study. Some of the 1997 estimates are identical to the
entries in the 1998 edition of the OECD publication, for others there are minor deviations.
The countries covered are Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands,
Great Britain, and Canada.
’Standard’ events
The APWs in the 8 countries are exposed to a series of ’standard’ events. The events
selected are:
1.
Ill for one week. Single APW
2.
Unemployed for 3 months during the year, eligible for unemployment insurance
benefits. Single APW
3.
Unemployed for the whole year, eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
Single APW
4.
Unemployed for 3 months during the year, not eligible for unemployment insurance
benefits. Single APW

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5.
Unemployed for the whole year, not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
Single APW
6.
Wife unemployed for the whole year, eligible for unemployment insurance. APW-
couple
7.
Injured from work - single APW, two cases:
1. Working capability completely lost.
2. Loss of 
D
of the working capability.
8.
Disability pensioner with former work record. Single APW.
9.
Disability pensioner without former work record. Single APW.
10.
Wife, usually working part time, becomes a disability pensioner. APW-couple.
11.
Old-age pensioner with maximum period of former occupation. Single APW.
12.
Old-age pensioner without former occupation. Single APW.
13.
Old-age pensioners with maximum period of former occupation. APW-couple.