Question 1
The call for tender does not specify the time-period of the analysis. The analysis of
intragenerational income mobility requires longitudinal income data, but comparative
household panel datasets (ECHP, CHER) were discontinued at the beginning of the decade. Is
it justified to conclude that the timeliness of data is not of major importance for this study?
Another question concerns the quantitative analysis at regional level. To our knowledge there
are no data available at EU-level, or in most Member States, which would enable the nature
and extent of social mobility to be explored at the regional level, nor are there data which
would allow changes in income distribution at the regional level to be examined. Is it
conceivable to restrict the regional coverage of the analysis to those countries where
regionally representative data exist?
We would appreciate clarification on the above issues, as without additional information it is
extremely difficult to draw up a suitable bid for the above call for tender.
Question 2
(…) we are concerned about the data quality for looking at regional patterns and the limited
number of countries with extensive periods of panel data for longer term mobility (5 years or
so).
The ECHPS is good data for this but has a limited range of countries, too small sized samples
to do regional analysis and ended in 2001 (and so is somewhat dated). EU-SILC has more
countries but again is small samples and has only two years data too dated and is going to
have major measurement error problems for he assessment of mobility. Specific country
panels offer richer data for regional analysis (SOEP, BHPS, Bank of Italy data) come to mind
but are clearly limited in the range of countries that are capable of being tackled, especially
given the limited timeframe.
So we feel that the regional analysis potential is limited to a small number of countries and
wider country studies will be dated by using ECHPS data. (…).
Answer to question 1 and question 2
Background:
The tender specifications state:
(1) at paragraph 3.3.1: "Task 3.1: National Analysis"
"All EU Member States shall in principle be covered. However, necessary and comparable
data may not be available. In this regard, in the light of their knowledge of data availability
and comparability, in their proposals tenderers should explain and justify the proposed
quantitative analysis including the geographical coverage and the time-span."
(2) and at paragraph 3.3.2: "Task 3.2: Regional Analysis"
"Similar to the national analysis, all EU Member States (except those which are themselves
NUTS 2 regions) shall in principle be covered. However, necessary and comparable data may
not be available. In this regard, in their proposals tenderers should explain and justify on the
grounds of data availability and comparability, the proposed quantitative analyses including
the geographical coverage and the time-span."
(3) in Section 4 "Offer Specification":
In their proposals, tender participants should ensure that the following information is also
included:
(….)
(b) the geographical and time-span coverage of the study; to this end, the tenderers should:
(a) indicate the sources, the availability and comparability of country and regional data; (b)
indicate the related time-span; (c) explaining the rationale behind the selection of countries
and regions chosen;
3) in Section 4 "Offer Specification":
In their proposals, tender participants should ensure that the following information is also
included:
(….)
(b) the geographical and time-span coverage of the study; to this end, the tenderers should:
(a) indicate the sources, the availability and comparability of country and regional data; (b)
indicate the related time-span; (c) explaining the rationale behind the selection of countries
and regions chosen;
(4) in Section 18 "Award Criteria":
The quality of the tender will be assessed as a function of the following criteria:
(…)
 Proposed methodology (40%)
Particular attention will be paid to the following aspects:
(…)
– Geographical coverage and time span of the quantitative analysis;
Answer:
The tender specifications emphasise, on the one hand, that for the quantitative analyses at
national and regional level all EU Member States shall be in principle be covered, and on the
other hand, that the necessary and comparable data may not be available. To this end,
tenderers should explain and justify, the quantitative analyses proposed (including their
geographical coverage and time-span) which will be carried out in the light of the data
availability and comparability (paragraph 3.3.1 and 3.3.2). This is a key aspect that tender
participants should ensure in their offer proposals (Section 4). Since the extent of the
quantitative analysis (including geographical coverage and time-span) is one of the key
aspects of the study, it does constitute one of key award criteria according to which relevant
offers will be assessed.