Households
2.8. A household is defined in SNA93 as 'a small group of persons who share the same living accommodation, who pool some, or all, of their income and wealth and who consume certain types of goods and services collectively, mainly housing and food'. (SNA93, paragraph. 4.132.)
2.9. Individual members of households are not treated as institutional units because many assets are owned (and liabilities incurred) jointly by two or more members of a household. Income can be pooled and expenditure decisions are often made for the household as a whole. Some households include unincorporated enterprises (e.g. sole proprietorships, partnerships) which engage in market production. SNA93 recommends that an unincorporated enterprise which is entirely owned by a household should be treated as an integral part of that household unless the enterprise qualifies as a quasi-corporation (see paragraphs 2.12, 2.22 and 2.23).
2.10. Households in ABS economic statistics are defined in the same way as in SNA93. In ABS population statistics, such as the Census of Population and Housing, and ABS household surveys, the definition of a household is conceptually consistent with the SNA93 definition.
2.11. While the ABS generally adopts the SNA93 household definition in economic statistics, it is not possible to identify all unincorporated enterprises that qualify as quasi-corporations. This situation is explained in paragraphs 3.15 and 3.16.
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