Boddin, Dominik; Köhle , Mona
A icle
The high equency i m su ey 'Bundesbank Online Panel-
Fi ms'
Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
De G uy e B ill
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Boddin, Dominik; Köhle , Mona (2024) : The high equency i m su ey
'Bundesbank Online Panel-Fi ms', Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics, ISSN 2366-049X, De G uy e
Oldenbou g, Be lin, Vol. 244, Iss. 3, pp. 267-275,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/jbns -2023-0009
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
h ps://hdl.handle.ne /10419/333283
S anda d-Nu zungsbedingungen:
Die Dokumen e au EconS o dü en zu eigenen wissenscha lichen
Zwecken und zum P i a geb auch gespeiche und kopie we den.
Sie dü en die Dokumen e nich ü ö en liche ode komme zielle
Zwecke e iel äl igen, ö en lich auss ellen, ö en lich zugänglich
machen, e eiben ode ande wei ig nu zen.
So e n die Ve asse die Dokumen e un e Open-Con en -Lizenzen
(insbesonde e CC-Lizenzen) zu Ve ügung ges ell haben soll en,
gel en abweichend on diesen Nu zungsbedingungen die in de do
genann en Lizenz gewäh en Nu zungs ech e.
Te ms o use:
Documen s in EconS o may be sa ed and copied o you pe sonal
and schola ly pu poses.
You a e no o copy documen s o public o comme cial pu poses, o
exhibi he documen s publicly, o make hem publicly a ailable on he
in e ne , o o dis ibu e o o he wise use he documen s in public.
I he documen s ha e been made a ailable unde an Open Con en
Licence (especially C ea i e Commons Licences), you may exe cise
u he usage igh s as speci ied in he indica ed licence.
h ps://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/
Da a Obse e
Dominik Boddin* and Mona Köhle
The High F equency Fi m Su ey
“Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms”
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/jbns -2023-0009
Recei ed Janua y 26, 2023; accep ed Janua y 27, 2023
Abs ac : The Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms (“BOP-F”) is a da ase wi h
esponses om a high equency fi m-le el su ey o he same name. The
Bundesbank has conduc ed he su ey since June 2020, and since July 2021 he su ey
has been ca ied ou a a mon hly equency. E e y mon h, a ound 3000 fi ms
om all economic sec o s, egions and size classes a e su eyed. The su ey con-
sis s o ecu ing co e ques ions abou he economic si ua ion o fi ms and hei
expec a ions and special ques ions ha usually diffe om qua e o qua e . The
la e o en ela e o cu en opics, o ins ance, clima e change, digi aliza ion,
Co id-19. The da a can be accessed o esea ch and especially he possibili y
o combine i wi h o he adminis a i e Bundesbank da a makes i pa icula ly
aluable o esea ch. The objec i e o his pape is o desc ibe he me hodology o
he da a collec ion, he con en da a as well as he da a’s esea ch po en ial.
Keywo ds: es ablishmen su ey, su ey me hodology, co po a e inance, COVID-19
pandemic, labo ma ke , fi m decisions
JEL Classifica ion: C81, C83, G30, M21
Any opinions exp essed in his pape ep esen he au ho ’s pe sonal opinions and do no necessa ily
eflec he iews o he Deu sche Bundesbank o he Eu osys em. The con en o his pape co esponds in
pa o he con en om he da a epo o he da a, c ., Boddin e al. (2022). We hank he en i e BOP-F
su ey eam (S e an Bende , Sa yaji Du , Julia-Ka ha ina Ginz, Heba Ismaeil, Sabine Lösch, Tobias
Schmid , Pawel Smie anka, Milena Tz e ko a) a he Deu sche Bundesbank.
*Co esponding au ho : Dominik Boddin, Deu sche Bundesbank, Wilhelm-Eps ein-S asse 14, 60431
F ank u , Ge many, E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Mona Köhle , Deu sche Bundesbank, Wilhelm-Eps ein-S asse 14, 60431 F ank u , Ge many,
E-mail: [email p o ec ed]
Jou nal o Economics and S a is ics 2024; 244(3): 267–275
Open Access. © 2023 he au ho (s), published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he
C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License.
1 In oduc ion
The ab up and sha p economic collapse caused by he Co id-19 pandemic in sp ing
2020, igge ed a g ea need o de ailed up- o-da e in o ma ion on he economic
si ua ion o fi ms in Ge many. The Resea ch Cen e and he Resea ch Da a and
Se ice Cen e o he Deu sche Bundesbank he e o e ini ia ed i s own online fi m
su ey, he Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms (“BOP-F”), in pa icula o ob ain
in o ma ion on he pandemics effec s on he gene al economy, on he financial
si ua ion o fi ms and on u u e expec a ions in he co po a e sec o .
Since July 2021 un il oday, he su ey is ca ied ou mon hly wi h a ound 3000
pa icipa ing fi ms and has es ablished i sel as an impo an ool p o iding aluable
in o ma ion o analys s and esea che s.
1
The su ey da a o each mon h ep esen
a c oss-sec ional da a se . The c oss-sec ional da a om h ee consecu i e mon hs
a e combined in o a qua e ly unbalanced panel. Due o he unde lying o a ing
su ey p ocedu e wi h su ey o he panel fi ms e e y qua e as well as unchanged
ques ionnai es wi hin a qua e , BOP-F con ains qua e ly su ey da a wi h an
unbalanced panel s uc u e. Qua e ly weigh s a e p o ided acco dingly. E e y
qua e , a ound 9000 fi ms om all economic sec o s, egions and size classes a e
su eyed. The su ey consis s o ecu ing co e ques ions abou he economic
si ua ion o fi ms and hei expec a ions (e.g. p ice de elopmen o infla ion a e
expec a ions) and special ques ions ha usually diffe om qua e o qua e . The
la e o en ela e o cu en opics. While ini ially Co id-19 was he main ocus,
meanwhile a la ge numbe o opic a eas wi h cu en ele ance we e co e ed. This
includes bu is no limi ed o clima e change, digi aliza ion, minimum wages, supply
chain issues, ene gy p ices e c.
Resea che s can access he anonymized da a a he RDSC’s gues esea che
wo ks a ions in a secu e en i onmen a one o he RDSC’s loca ions. One big
ad an age o BOP-F da a is ha i can be combined wi h o he adminis a i e
Bundesbank da a, which makes i pa icula ly aluable o esea ch.
The emainde o his pape is o ganized as ollows. Sec ion 2 in oduces he
me hodology o he da a collec ion, i.e. in pa icula sampling and weigh ing, and
Sec ion 3 p esen s he con en o he da a. Sec ion 4 desc ibes he da a access and he
oppo uni ies o esea ch, especially h ough ma ching wi h adminis a i e da a.
Sec ion 5 offe s some concluding ema ks.
1The su ey began wi h a one-yea “pilo phase”du ing which fi e online su eys we e conduc ed
app oxima ely e e y wo mon hs. In addi ion, be o e he s a o he pilo phase, a p e- es su ey
wi h a sample size o 1000 companies was ca ied ou in o de o es he ques ions and he su ey
design and o ob ain ini ial indica ions o he esponse a e and willingness o pa icipa e in he
panel.
268 D. Boddin and M. Köhle
2 Da a Me hodology
This sec ion con ains a desc ip ion o he me hodology including he su ey design,
he da a collec ion p ocess and he weigh ing p ocedu e. Fo u he de ails please
check he da a epo (c ., Boddin e al. 2022). BOP-F is a da ase based on a
ep esen a i e online su ey o fi ms conduc ed by he Resea ch Cen e and he
Resea ch Da a and Se ice Cen e (RDSC) o he Deu sche Bundesbank in coope a ion
wi h an ex e nal su ey fi m, o sa. BOP-F con ains qua e ly su ey da a collec ed
mon hly o e h ee-mon h cycles.
2
The su ey s uc u e is based on a o a ing panel p inciple, as shown in Figu e 1.
This s uc u e allows us o compile ep esen a i e da a o he popula ion o fi ms
based in Ge many on a mon hly basis and o educe su ey a igue o fi ms. While
he BOP-F su ey is conduc ed e e y mon h, he ques ionnai es only change a e he
end o a qua e . The sample –consis ing o bo h panel and newcome fi ms,
3
is
d awn o an en i e qua e and is hen di ided e enly o e he h ee mon hs.
Howe e , once a fi m has pa icipa ed in he su ey in he fi s mon h o he qua e ,
i is always in i ed o pa icipa e in he fi s mon h o e e y qua e going o wa d. In
Figu e 1, o ins ance, fi ms in g oup 1 will always ecei e he ques ionnai e in he
fi s mon h o e e y qua e , i.e. Janua y, Ap il, July and Oc obe . Wi h his o a ing
panel design, we keep he bu den on fi ms as low as possible by con ac ing a
gi en fi m only ou imes a yea . Howe e , by conduc ing he su ey mon hly,
high- equency mon hly da a is gene a ed.
Since no all companies a e willing o ake pa in he su ey again and he
numbe o pa icipan s pe wa e should be kep compa a i ely s able o e ime, he
su ey sample mus be e eshed egula ly. The sample o he BOP-F su ey is
d awn om he uni e se o fi ms loca ed in Ge many wi h a axable u no e o
mo e han €22,000
4
o a leas one employee paying social secu i y con ibu ions.
5
The sample o e e y qua e is d awn p opo ionally o he dis ibu ion o he
popula ion o fi ms along h ee dimensions: (i) a fi m size indica o measu ed in
2As p e iously men ioned mon hly da a is a ailable om July 2021 onwa ds. P io o ha he su ey
was conduc ed a lowe equency.
3We diffe en ia e be ween fi ms ha pa icipa e in he su ey o he fi s ime (“newcome fi ms”)
and hose who ha e pa icipa ed be o e (“panel fi ms”).
4In he fi s wa es he bounda y o axable u no e was sligh ly lowe a €17,500.
5This da a base is equen ly upda ed, bu he cu -off epo ing da e on which he da a is based on is
a ound wo yea s be o e he ac ual su ey. Fi ms which a e no classified as na u al pe sons o o
which in o ma ion such as add ess, sales, o employmen is missing a e excluded om he sample.
A ound 12% o he o iginal da abase could no be used due o missing in o ma ion. The popula ion
con ains only en e p ises ha a e egis e ed in Ge many. The o al a ailable popula ion con ains
a ound one million fi ms.
The “Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms”269
e ms o employmen and u no e (3 classes), (ii) egion (4 classes), and (iii)
economic sec o (6 classes). Thus, he sample is d awn om 72 s a a (3 ×4×6).
A e wa ds, he qua e ly sample is dis ibu ed equally o e h ee mon hs.
6
Due o he disp opo ional sampling design o he BOP-F su ey, i unweigh ed,
da a analysis would lead o non- ep esen a i e esul s. In o de o make he esul s
ep esen a i e o he uni e se o Ge man fi ms weigh s a e c ea ed along he h ee
dimensions men ioned abo e.
7
The field wo k o each wa e usually s a s on he fi s business day o a mon h
and ends a ound 22 days la e .
8
A e abou hal he ime o he field phase, fi ms a e
eminded o pa icipa e in he su ey. Only fi ms ha ha e no esponded by hen
ecei e eminde s. One day be o e he field phase ends fi ms ecei e a final
Figu e 1: Ro a ing panel design.
6The sec o al classifica ion co esponds o he IAB’s Es ablishmen Panel classifica ion and is
simila o NACE Re . 2.
7In he fi s s ep, design weigh s we e c ea ed by using he in e se o he inclusion p obabili ies.
Then, sampling weigh s o each s a um a e i e a i ely adjus ed by using an i e a i e p opo ional
fi ing p ocedu e. The aim o his p ocedu e is o adjus he sum o weigh s o each ma ginal
dimension o he a ge a iables o he dis ibu ion o he popula ion un il a p edefined con e gence
c i e ion is achie ed. The a ge s uc u e is based on h ee dimensions: egion economic sec o and
fi m size class.
8The fi s fi e ounds o online pilo su eys we e conduc ed app oxima ely wo o h ee mon hs
apa and a field phase las ed o abou 20–40 days.
270 D. Boddin and M. Köhle
eminde . This second eminde is sen ia email only and hus only o panel fi ms
who p o ided hei e-mail-add ess.
To ensu e ha highly anked execu i es fill ou he ques ionnai e, he ph ase
“ o he a en ion o he managemen ”(in Ge man: “zu Händen de Geschä s üh-
ung”) is p in ed on e e y en elope wi h su ey in i a ions. Be o e each su ey,
esponden s a e in o med ha he su ey would ake a ound 15–20 min o comple e.
The ac ual median in e iew du a ion o unin e up ed in e iews lies wi hin his
ime in e al. A ound 60% o he newcome fi ms s a e ha hey a e willing o ake
pa in he u u e su eys. The ac ual u u e pa icipa ion a e, howe e , is lowe .
Table 1 summa izes he key figu es discussed in his sec ion o each wa e. The
fi s column s a es he wa e and he second column he du a ion o he field phase.
Column h ee con ains he numbe o fi ms ha ha e been con ac ed o pa icipa e in
he su ey, whe eas column ou con ains he numbe o success ul in e iews ha
co esponds o he numbe o obse a ions in ou da a. As men ioned p e iously, he
mon hly design wi h a smalle numbe o obse a ions was in oduced in July 2021.
Column fi e con ains he esponse a e in pe cen , which is he sha e o pa icipa ed
o e con ac ed fi ms. Column six con ains he sha e o panel fi ms, i.e. fi ms ha
al eady had pa icipa ed in he su ey p io o ha wa e. The emaining fi ms a e
newcome fi ms. Column se en s a es he median du a ion ha fi ms equi ed o
finish he su ey.
As al eady men ioned, du ing he pilo phase las ing un il wa e fi e, he sample
size was significan ly la ge and he field phase longe . Since he in oduc ion o he
mon hly equency in wa e 6, bo h he g oss and he ne sample size ha e been
s able. Cu en ly, (as o Decembe 2022) 43,189 diffe en fi ms pa icipa ed in he
su ey which lead o 104,270 finished in e iews and hus obse a ions in he da a.
Also he esponse a e is a he s able a a ound 15% o 20%. No su p isingly, he
sha e o panel fi ms has s eadily inc eased o e ime. Cu en ly, mo e han 80% o
fi ms ha ake pa in he su ey ha e done so be o e.
3 Con en o he Da a
The ques ionnai es in he BOP-F s udy comp ise a se o co e and special ques ions.
Co e ques ions a e included in e e y su ey wa e, change li le om one qua e o
ano he and ask abou he economic si ua ion o fi ms and hei expec a ions. In
gene al, he co e ques ions co e he h ee main a eas (I) mac oeconomic ques ions,
(II) mic oeconomic ques ions ela ed o eal decisions, and (III) mic oeconomic
ques ions ela ed o financial decisions. Some o he co e ques ions a e p obabilis ic
and allow measu ing fi ms’unce ain y ega ding hei ex e nal en i onmen (e.g.
he key in e es a e) and hei own u u e key figu es and ou comes (e.g. sales).
The “Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms”271
The co e ques ions a e supplemen ed by special modules ha diffe om
qua e o qua e . They a e designed o mo e in-dep h in es iga ion o ce ain
opics and a e o en abou impo an cu en issues. The main ocus o he special
ques ions p io o July 2021 (i.e., du ing he fi s fi e su ey wa es) was he mea-
su emen o he impac o he Co id-19 pandemic on fi ms. These include, o
Table :Key figu es by wa e.
Wa e Field phase
du a ion
G oss
sample
Ne
sample
Response
a e (in %)
Panel sha e
(in %)
Du a ion in
minu es
June –July , , . –.
Augus –Sep embe
, . . .
Oc obe –No embe
, , . . .
Janua y –Ma ch , , .. .
May –May , . . .
July –July , . . .
Augus –Augus , . . .
Sep embe –Sep embe
, . . .
Oco be –Oc obe
, . . .
No embe –No embe
, . . .
No embe –Decembe
, . . .
Janua y –Janua y
, . . .
Feb ua y –Feb ua y
, . . .
Ma ch –Ma ch , . . .
Ma ch –Ap il , . . .
May –May , . . .
June –June , . . .
July –July , . . .
July –Augus , . . .
Augus –Sep embe
, . . .
Oc obe –Oc obe
, . . .
Oc obe –No embe
, . . .
No embe
–Decembe
, . . .
272 D. Boddin and M. Köhle
example, he impac o he empo a y VAT educ ion, he analysis o po en ial
liquidi y bo lenecks, and he pandemic-induced digi aliza ion. Recen ly, he ocus o
he special ques ions has b oadened and co e ed a g ea e a ie y o opics. This
includes bu is no limi ed o clima e change, digi aliza ion, minimum wages, supply
chain issues, ene gy p ices e c. The su ey design makes i possible o quickly eac o
un o eseen and sudden e en s. Table 2 con ains a de ailed o e iew o special
ques ions co e ed in each wa e. The ques ionnai es o he indi idual wa es con ain
mo e de ailed in o ma ion and a e a ailable o download om he p ojec websi e:
h ps://www.bundesbank.de/en/bundesbank/ esea ch/su ey-on-fi ms.
Addi ionally, he ques ionnai es con ain ques ions on he fi m cha ac e is ics as
well as fi m eedback. The da a con ains in o ma ion on he fi m’s sel - epo ed
employmen and u no e as well as egion and economic sec o . Responden s also
ca ego ize hei posi ion wi hin he fi m and he fi m ype in gene al. E en ually hey
e alua e he pe cei ed difficul y and leng h o he ques ionnai e. Finally, he BOP-F
da ase also includes pa ada a, o ins ance, whe he he in e iew was in e up ed
and he leng h o he in e iew.
Table :O e iew o opics in he special modules o BOP-F.
Wa e Ques ionnai e Topic(s)
Co id- p oduc ion and employmen eac ions, K W c edi s, liquidi y
Sho ime wo k, VAT educ ion, fin ech, de e als
Clima e change, infla ion expec a ion, unemploymen a e
Liquidi y sou ces, p ice changes, VAT effec
Digi aliza ion, quan i a i e changes
Paymen ins umen s, p oduc ion cos s, infla ion expec a ions, nega i e in e es
a e, RD in es men s
Second o de infla ion expec a ions, financing du ing financial c isis, Co id- &
homeoffice, Blockchain
S a e aid, in es men s, ene gy cos s
Russia–Uk aine wa , p ice changes, co po a e a ings, in es men expendi u e
on so wa e and ha dwa e, ene gy p ices/consump ion, p oduc ion cos s and
p ices
Russia–Uk aine wa , sa egua d clauses, minimum wage, clima e policy
measu es
Russia–Uk aine wa , hi ing plans, emaining deb and unding cos s
The “Bundesbank Online Panel –Fi ms”273
4 Da a Access and Use o Resea ch
Access o BOP-F mic oda a is p o ided a he RDSC’s gues esea che wo ks a ions
in a secu e en i onmen a one o he RDSC’s loca ions. This o m o access is
necessa y in o de o mee he s a u o y p o isions conce ned wi h sa egua ding
he confiden iali y o s a is ical epo s and, a he same ime, o enable access o
indi idual da a o independen academic esea ch pu poses. To ge access o he
da a, esea che s a e asked o submi a esea ch da a eques including a esea ch
p oposal. A esea ch p oposal is checked o easibili y o he esea ch p ojec gi en
he esea ch da a, i.e. he sui abili y o he da a o answe he esea ch ques ions
aised by he p oposal. The esea ch p ojec mus be o public in e es . Comme cial
p ojec s will no be accep ed.
One o he majo ad an ages o BOP-F da a is ha i can be combined wi h o he
adminis a i e Bundesbank da a, which makes i pa icula ly aluable o esea ch. This
includes bu is no limi ed o o he fi m-le el da a such as balance shee in o ma ion (e.g.
Janis) o in o ma ion on o eign di ec in es men s (e.g. MiDi). The da a comple es a
se ies o Bundesbank su ey da ase s, including household su eys such as Bundesbank
Online Panel –Households (“BOP-HH”)
9
o he Panel on Household Finances (“PHF”).
10
BOP-HH is also a high- equency mon hly su ey. The s uc u e and pa ly also he
con en o he ques ions a e simila (e.g. wi h ega d o infla ion expec a ions), which
allows a ce ain compa abili y be ween he company and household su eys.
Al hough he da a has no been a ailable o long, he e a e al eady fi s
pape s ha use he da a. Fo ins ance, combining he su ey da a wi h admin-
is a i e da a, Boddin e al. (2020) in es iga e whe he go e nmen -subsidized
loans a e an impo an policy measu e o sus ain he eal economy du ing non-
financially-d i en c ises like he Co id-19 c isis o whe he hey migh in ac hu
long- un economic g ow h by keeping unp ofi able fi ms ali e.
11
Gä ne and
9Fo u he in o ma ion see h ps://www.bundesbank.de/en/bundesbank/ esea ch/ dsc/ esea ch-
da a/bop-hh-757542.
10 Fo u he in o ma ion see h ps://www.bundesbank.de/en/bundesbank/ esea ch/ dsc/ esea ch-
da a/ph -755932.
11 They find ha fi ms iden i y pessimis ic and unce ain belie s abou u u e demand, a he han
cu en o u u e c edi cons ain s, as he main impedimen o hei business. Demand-d i en
unce ain y is also wha limi s fi ms’s demand o c edi . Fi ms p edominan ly ely on e ained
ea nings o finance hei ope a ions. Those who access ex e nal financing do so la gely h ough
egula comme cial loans a he han loans gua an eed by go e nmen p og ams. Fi ms ha apply
o go e nmen -gua an eed loans a e mo e likely o display zombie ea u es. The su i al o hese
fi ms could hampe s uc u al changes in he economy, which would wo sen a he han imp o e
he economic ou look in he medium o long e m.
274 D. Boddin and M. Köhle
