On the Representativeness of the ifo Business Survey

The monthly ifo Business Survey is the basis for numerous economic indicators, such as the ifo Business Climate Index Germany. Moreover, the anonymized micro data can be used for a wide range of research projects. In order to obtain robust results, the panel of survey participants must be large enough and as representative as possible for the German economy. This article describes the composition of the panel participants based on various criteria, such as representativeness at the sectoral and industry level, regional distribution, and distribution by firm size. The investigation shows that the business panel is representative for the German economy.