# **Methods of Allocation**

The CEQ methodology consists of different methods for allocating taxes and social spending from the national account to individuals in the household survey. The methods include **_direct identification,_** used when the survey reports the beneficiaries of social spending (the taxpayers) and the amount they received (paid); **_imputation,_** used when the beneficiaries of spending (the taxpayers) are reported in the survey but not the amount they receive (are paid); and **_simulation_** , used when neither the beneficiaries of spending (the taxpayer) nor the amount they received (were paid) is reported in the survey. The allocation method is selected regarding the availability of information in the survey. The allocation methods used in the case of Niger are described in the following paragraphs for each item of the fiscal system.

# _Direct Transfers_

Scholarships and support to non-grant students in Niger are given to university students meeting the criteria of the _Direction des Bourses et des Aides Financières_ (holding the nationality, having filled an application). Thus, the coverage of that program is university students who are citizens of Niger. The beneficiaries of that program, as well as the amount they received, are reported in the two surveys; thus, the allocation method is direct identification.

There are two types of school feeding programs that the government has put into place ( _cantines nomades_ and _cantines sédentaires_ ), for the purpose of improving school attendance and success rates. The school feeding program covers primary and secondary students, mostly those located in nomadic and sedentary regions. While the surveys do not directly identify the beneficiaries, they do provide information about the educational level and the type of school for each individual. The statistical book of the National Institute of Statistics also contains data about the geographical repartition of school feedings. The potential beneficiaries (pupils attending either primary or secondary education) are identified, and the current program repartition is considered through the regional quotas, to randomly select beneficiaries in each region, and impute to them the per capita cost of the program.

# _Direct Taxes_

Tax on wages, which is a monthly progressive rate on gross salary, are due from any type of salaried employment except work done for international organizations or family employees. The surveys allow determining the different types of salaried employment and the (net) wages received by each employee. The net wages are grossed up, and the corresponding taxes paid by employees are simulated based on the prevailing tax brackets and holding the wages fiscal pressure in the surveys (total taxes on wages/total household consumption) to be equal to the wages fiscal pressures in the national account (total taxes on wages/total household consumption).

# _Indirect Taxes_

VAT, import duties, and other taxes on goods and services are included through their effective rate, which is derived from Niger’s SAM in 2012 for each category (sector) of products. The consumption level of the individual in each product category (SAM classification) is computed in the surveys by matching the survey’s products to the SAM categories. Then, the SAM effective rate in each category for the different taxes is applied to the corresponding categories in the surveys 22