{"id":886,"date":"2025-06-23T18:49:21","date_gmt":"2025-06-23T18:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/?page_id=886"},"modified":"2025-06-25T10:16:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T10:16:16","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"886\" class=\"elementor elementor-886\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f660922 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f660922\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ad37dbb elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"ad37dbb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1539\" src=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1256\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a.png 1500w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a-292x300.png 292w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a-998x1024.png 998w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a-768x788.png 768w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a-1497x1536.png 1497w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-1a-12x12.png 12w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb89594 animated-slow elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"fb89594\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;,&quot;_animation_delay&quot;:&quot;0.8&quot;,&quot;ep_threed_text_active&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;ep_threed_text_depth&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:61,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;ep_threed_text_depth_color&quot;:&quot;#1A241B&quot;,&quot;ep_threed_text_perspective&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:270,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;ep_threed_text_layers&quot;:25,&quot;ep_threed_text_fade&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;ep_threed_text_event&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">THE<\/BR>RESEARCH<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9a2bdd0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9a2bdd0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a110041 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"a110041\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1bf9091 elementor-widget-laptop__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1bf9091\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">THE IDEA <br>Breakthrough Innovation potential <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-58682bb2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"58682bb2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-76baf16 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"76baf16\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Brief description of the idea to be taken to proof of concept:\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e188395 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"e188395\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7822633 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7822633\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The problem<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span> Social assistance benefits are a crucial pillar of the welfare state in many EU countries as they ensure a minimum standard of living to citizens with low income. In December 2022, 394 thousand people received a social assistance benefit in the Netherlands. To design effective welfare policies and simultaneously maintain sound public finances, governments need accurate figures (i.e. <em>Official Statistics<\/em>) on (1) the <strong>number of individuals receiving social assistance benefits<\/strong>, and (2) the <strong>number of individuals moving out of social assistance within a certain period<\/strong> (e.g. one year). With these numbers at hand, governments want to ensure that people in need receive welfare benefits, but also that welfare-recipients move quickly to employment so that fiscal expenditure on the welfare state is restrained. Moreover, by achieving quick transitions from welfare to employment, governments want to reduce skill obsolesce and the discouraged-worker effect. <strong>Producing official Statistics<\/strong> on social assistance is the task of NSIs, such as CBS<sup>1<\/sup> with the use of register data.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-916cbe0 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"916cbe0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4282da3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4282da3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-family: terminal, monaco, monospace; color: #c26437;\">Table 1: Glossary<\/span><span style=\"background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.9em;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p><table class=\" alignleft\" style=\"height: 117px; width: 103.963%;\"><tbody><tr style=\"height: 24px;\"><td style=\"height: 15px; width: 92.9878%; text-align: left;\">National Statistical Institute<\/td><td style=\"height: 15px; width: 8.53657%;\">NSI<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 10px; padding: 0px;\"><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 92.9878%;\"><p>Statistics Netherlands<br \/><em>Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek<\/em><\/p><\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 8.53657%;\">CBS<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 10px;\"><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 92.9878%;\"><p>Employee Insurance Agency<br \/><em>Uitvoeringsinstituut WerknemersVerzekeringen<\/em><\/p><\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 8.53657%;\">UWV<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 24px;\"><td style=\"height: 24px; width: 92.9878%;\">Hidden Markov Model<\/td><td style=\"height: 24px; width: 8.53657%;\">HMM<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 48px;\"><td style=\"height: 48px; width: 92.9878%;\">General Statistical Business Process Model<\/td><td style=\"height: 48px; width: 8.53657%;\">GSBPM<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 10px;\"><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 92.9878%;\">Innovation Exchange Amsterdam<\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 8.53657%;\"><p>IXA<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9295fa5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9295fa5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14px; font-family: terminal, monaco, monospace;\">Table 2: Inconsistencies in receiving social assistance benefit on 1\/1\/2021<\/span><span style=\"background-color: transparent; font-size: 0.9em;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p><table style=\"height: auto; width: 100%;\"><tbody><tr style=\"height: 31px;\"><td style=\"height: 81px; width: 28.6585%; vertical-align: middle; text-align: left;\" rowspan=\"4\">Municipal register<\/td><td style=\"height: 31px; width: 11.2805%;\" rowspan=\"2\">\u00a0<\/td><td style=\"height: 31px; width: 39.939%;\" colspan=\"2\">UWV register<\/td><td style=\"height: 31px; width: 15.8537%;\">Total<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 13px;\"><td style=\"height: 13px; width: 20.4268%;\">Yes<\/td><td style=\"height: 13px; width: 19.5122%;\">No<\/td><td style=\"height: 13px; width: 15.8537%;\">\u00a0<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 27px;\"><td style=\"height: 27px; width: 11.2805%;\">Yes<\/td><td style=\"height: 27px; width: 20.4268%;\">99.85%<\/td><td style=\"height: 27px; width: 19.5122%;\">0.15%<\/td><td style=\"height: 27px; width: 15.8537%;\">100%<\/td><\/tr><tr style=\"height: 10px;\"><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 11.2805%;\">No<\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 20.4268%;\">24.28%<\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 19.5122%;\">75.72%<\/td><td style=\"height: 10px; width: 15.8537%;\">100%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8594108 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8594108\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Currently,\u00a0<strong>policy making on social assistance benefits in the Netherlands is based on official statistics that<\/strong> \u2013 although they meet the professional standards of the CBS \u2013<strong> still include measurement error.\u00a0<\/strong> This error is typically the result of administrative delays in registration, differences in conceptual definitions or processing errors<sup>2<\/sup>. Measurement error, if not properly dealt with, <strong>can lead to a distorted view of the number of people receiving social assistance benefits as well as mobility in- and out of social assistance<\/strong>. In turn, this could lead to <strong>suboptimal welfare policies<\/strong>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b9bedc5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b9bedc5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The standard manual methods that the CBS applies to improve data quality, such as \u2018data validation and data editing\u2019<sup>3<\/sup> have always been <strong>time-consuming and expensive<\/strong>. Although the process of automatic data validation that CBS has introduced in the past decades \u2013 that resulted in tremendous efficiency gains with respect to time and other resources \u2013 and produces the so-called \u2018tidy data\u2019 is <strong>still imperfect<\/strong>. The reason is that this automatic validation is mainly focused on the so-called <em>visible<\/em> error<sup>4<\/sup>, which is the error that can be detected by combining information from a <u>single<\/u> dataset with deductive rules (e.g. if in the item receiving social assistance benefit, the information \u2018receiving\u2019 is reported, while in the item total personal income, the individual appears to receive no income). In other words, <em>some error remains unremedied<\/em> with data validation. <strong>COMBINE provides a solution for this type of error<\/strong> that can only be revealed by linking data from <u>multiple<\/u> sources. Such error is called <em>invisible<\/em>. In the case of social assistance benefits, such invisible measurement error is revealed by linking validated municipal register data \u2013 which is currently used to produce official statistics on social assistance \u2013 to validated national UWV register data for the same individuals. As illustrated in Table 2, the two registers provide diverging information for the same individuals at the same moment in time. Notably, almost 25% of individuals that, on 1\/1\/2023, are registered as <strong><u>not<\/u> receiving<\/strong> social assistance benefits in the <strong>municipal register<\/strong> are registered as <strong>receiving<\/strong> benefits in the <strong>UWV register<\/strong>! This actually means that, at least for these individuals, one or even both data sources contain incorrect information (measurement error).<\/p><p>Measurement error <strong>threatens the integrity of official statistics<\/strong><sup>5<\/sup><strong> and therefore also the effectiveness of policies based on these statistics<\/strong>. Most importantly, even a small amount of measurement error in a variable can lead to large error in transitions\/change over time.<sup>6<\/sup> In my previous work concerning the type of the employment contract<sup>7<\/sup>, I show that almost half of the observed transitions from temporary to permanent employment in the Netherlands is not real.<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[1]<\/a> This means that this error could affect <strong>policy-making <\/strong>as the presumption that the labour market is very mobile is incorrect, since, in reality, mobility to permanent employment is shown to be very low. A similar finding for social assistance benefits would <strong>lead policy-makers wrongly presume<\/strong> that people do not receive these benefits for long and existing policies are successful in helping social assistance recipients move to employment.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27ccc29 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"27ccc29\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5867e22 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5867e22\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The solution<\/span>: error-corrected statistics in social assistance benefits<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-827a0db elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"827a0db\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>COMBINE tests, applies and evaluates a <strong>novel model-based error-detection and correction method<\/strong> on official statistics that concerns one of the most important elements of social welfare polices: social assistance benefits. COMBINE <strong><u>produces<\/u> error-corrected figures on (1) the number of individuals receiving a social assistance<\/strong> benefit at a given point in time and on <strong>(2) the transition rate out of social assistance<\/strong> between two points in time. Furthermore, COMBINE <strong>illustrates the potential of applying this method for correcting other official statistics<\/strong> that are published by National Statistical Institutes and used in policy-making throughout Europe.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6a1917 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e6a1917\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The <strong>error correction method involves the application of HMMs<\/strong>. HMMs are statistical models that approximate categorical variables that are incorrectly measured with observed data. In our case, HMMs estimate the two figures on social assistance benefits that we are interested in. First, HMMs use two observed measures of social assistance benefits to approximate the error-corrected number of individuals who receive social assistance benefits at every moment in time. The two observed measures help to triangulate \u201ctrue\u201d information and reduce the effect of measurement error that exists in each of them. By doing so, there is <strong>no need any more of knowing the exact cause of measurement error<\/strong>. The two measures of social assistance benefits come from the municipal register and the UWV register. Second, HMMs estimate the transition rate from receiving social assistance benefits to other states (e.g. employment) and vice versa using the error-corrected measure that was approximated before. To do so, HMMs require several (at least three) observations at different points in time per individual, which are available in our case in both registers<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-73b3e6d elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"73b3e6d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"PoC project\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6MTI4MywidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2NvbWJpbmVwcm9qZWN0LmV1XC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI1XC8wNlwvUG9DLXByb2plY3QuanBnIn0%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1473\" height=\"714\" src=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1283\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project.jpg 1473w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project-300x145.jpg 300w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project-1024x496.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project-768x372.jpg 768w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/PoC-project-18x9.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1473px) 100vw, 1473px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f107924 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f107924\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">The origin<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-646bfe1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"646bfe1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In a nutshell, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, <strong>COMBINE applies to official statistics the error-correction method that was developed in the ERC CoG project DYNANSE<\/strong>. In DYNANSE, we developed the HMM that can be used for error detection and correction. DYNANSE applied this method on the employment contract type and used data from a survey (Labour Force Survey) and a register (UWV register). COMBINE tests this method further, applies it in the production of official statistics and illustrates its significance for policymaking and society. \u00a0Specifically:<\/p><ol><li>COMBINE tackles <strong>different types of measurement error<\/strong> as it applies the models of DYNANSE to a different variable and to different types of data. In more detail, COMBINE applies error correction in social assistance benefits and uses data from two different registers (municipal and UWV register) where the challenges and the types of error are different from DYNANSE.<\/li><li>COMBINE focusses on <strong>error-specification issues that are particularly relevant for the production of official statistics<\/strong>. Therefore, it will extensively test several specifications of systematic error and it will focus on how measurement error and its effects differ across groups of individuals (e.g. people with migration background or not) or over time. Moreover, it will focus on how the method can be applied efficiently in the production of official statistics, e.g. by studying how estimates of measurement error probabilities in one time point can be carried over (without re-running the whole model) in the production of official statistics in the coming years.<\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-50f5bf2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"50f5bf2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bdf7d6d elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bdf7d6d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Demonstration of Breakthrough Innovation Potential:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d08938f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d08938f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>COMBINE will lead to a breakthrough by introducing two major innovations:<\/p><ol><li>It is the<strong> first method<\/strong> that is introduced in official statistics <strong>that corrects not only for <em>visible<\/em> but also for <em>invisible<\/em> measurement error<\/strong>. In this way, it can correct errors that are currently not corrected in the production of statistics and could lead to different estimates on official statistics in social assistance.<\/li><li>The method proposed will result in an efficiency gain as it <strong>could also replace current practices that are time-consuming and expensive<\/strong>. The method is <strong>flexible<\/strong> as it does not require anymore to assume that any of the data sources are error free, nor to know the exact cause of the error.<\/li><\/ol><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>These more reliable and more efficiently produced official statistics will serve as improved <strong>input for evidence-based policy making<\/strong> in social welfare. Moreover, once tested in\u00a0 the CBS environment, the method <strong>can be further applied to other official statistics<\/strong> produced by NSIs throughout the world and be used in policy making and public debate. \u00a0Therefore, this innovation could lead to a breakthrough in effectiveness and efficiency both in the area of official statistics (by NSIs), and policy measures (by policy makers). As far as NSIs are concerned, this can encourage a <strong>cultural shift <\/strong>as it will <strong>boost the confidence of these institutions to produce model-based error-corrected statistics<\/strong>. As the model is applicable to a wide range of topics, in the field of policy, the project contributes to <strong>better policy-making<\/strong>.<\/p><p>An <strong>alternative<\/strong> (to HMM) method to deal with measurement error \u2013 which is currently not used by the CBS specifically for measurement-error correction \u2013 is <strong>macro integration<\/strong>. Macro integration is a method that aims to achieve consistency when combining different data sources in producing official statistics. Inconsistencies between datasets can be the result of various types of error and not just measurement error (i.e. sampling error, processing error, linkage error). Macro integration is easier to implement than our method as it only uses the tables of aggregated statistics from the different data sources to achieve consistence and does not include a statistical model with all the data as our method. However, macro integration cannot directly deal with systematic measurement error as it assumes that both datasets are free from systematic error. In contrast, HMMs can provide detailed information on both random and systematic measurement error, which can be used to correct the data. Even if HMMs are not fully adopted in production of official statistics, they can provide auxiliary information for the current practice, or to be combined with macro integration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-df9108b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"df9108b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a375492 elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a375492\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Demonstration of the high-risk\/high-gain idea:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a6d769b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a6d769b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong>High gain<\/strong>:<\/span> The success of COMBINE could break new ground in official statistics and evidence-based policy making. The production of an error-corrected official statistic <strong>provides the opportunity to CBS to present in a relatively cost-effective and efficient way<\/strong>, for each figure, <strong>a single estimate with known reliability of social assistance benefits<\/strong>. The method we propose is applicable to other official statistics and therefore several target groups can benefit from it. In the case we deal with in COMBINE, the project will give policy makers the opportunity of deriving evidence-based policies, while policy debate on the crucial issue of the welfare state will be based on these more reliable estimates.<\/p><p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong>High risk<\/strong>:<\/span> COMBINE faces three types of risks. <strong>Firstly<\/strong>, the statistical models that will be used for the production of error-corrected statistics are <strong>computationally demanding<\/strong> and may also face convergence and misspecification problems. These models have never been applied for this specific variable (social assistance). <strong>Secondly<\/strong>, the statistical model <strong>may produce results that are not convincing<\/strong> for the CBS as an efficient and workable improvement. This means that if it turns out that a small change in the model specification or the data (e.g. data from different years) leads to radically different outcomes, the CBS may be reluctant to adopt this method in the production of official statistics. In general, official statistics is rather conservative in the application of model-based methods in the production of official statistics. <strong>Thirdly<\/strong>, it may turn out that <strong>users of the statistics find the method too complex and thus not understandable<\/strong>. As a consequence, users may be reluctant to use the new improved statistic. To deal with these risks, we have developed a mitigating strategy (see 1c).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5c127b8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5c127b8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-65dc954 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"65dc954\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3abab60 elementor-widget-laptop__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3abab60\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Approach &amp; Methodology <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-93e8b6a elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"93e8b6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"929\" src=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1257\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1.png 1500w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1-300x186.png 300w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1-1024x634.png 1024w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1-768x476.png 768w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Asset-2-1-18x12.png 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-914f25c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"914f25c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a4a9af4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a4a9af4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"color: #c26437;\"><strong>Outline the approach and methodology to explore the innovation potential of your ERC-funded research<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7e79d6c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7e79d6c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>So far, we have established that measurement error imposes risks (i.e. bias) to official statistics and, in particular, to official statistics on social assistance. These risks extend further to policy making and public debate that use these figures. Thus, there is a need to seek efficient and robust methods to increase the quality of official statistics on social assistance benefits. Such methods can be applied further to other official statistics and lead to a major breakthrough in the field.<\/p><p>We have also established that HMMs present a solution for correcting for measurement error. These models are suitable for the estimation of the error-corrected number of individuals receiving a social assistance benefit as well as for the transition rate out of social assistance. To realize the objectives of the project and safeguard its impact and feasibility, the PI of the project and his team have reached out to CBS and specifically the <strong>Department of Demographic and Socioeconomic Statistics<\/strong> that is responsible for producing statistics on social assistance benefits. The department has committed itself into facilitating in and contributing to this PoC. The aim of the department is to study obtain more understanding of the measurement error inherent in measuring social assistance benefits that may result in the possibility of producing an improved official statistics on social assistance benefits with the use of this error-correction method. Actually, Table 2 (above under section 1A) was produced by the department in preparation for this project. Its results (i.e. the inconsistencies between the two registers) have already led the department in administering an independent study for the sources of the problem. <strong>By collaborating with CBS, COMBINE makes a unique contribution by translating scientific research into the production of error-corrected official statistics and also to evidence-based policy making and public debate.<\/strong><\/p><p>The<strong> CBS Department of Demographic and Socioeconomic Statistics <\/strong>and the<strong> data owners (municipalities <\/strong>and<strong> UWV) will be the first <em>direct<\/em> <u>end-users<\/u><\/strong> of the project. The CBS department will have the option of putting the new method in the production of the official statistic, while the data owners will be provided with aggregated information that they can use directly to improve data quality. However, in case the PoC is successful, there will be a wide array of potential end-users. Specifically, <strong><em>potential<\/em> <u>end-users<\/u> will include all sections of CBS as well as of other NSIs <\/strong>that produce official statistics and possess data from more than one datasets. With moderate customization (i.e. adjustment of the HMM for the type of measurement error) the error-correction method can be quickly applied to the production of other categorical official statistics, such as employment status, health status and residential mobility. A <strong><em>second-level<\/em> of potential <u>end users<\/u><\/strong> will include the<strong> policy-makers, social partners, professionals and the general public<\/strong> accessing freely-available official statistics. These will form opinions and make decisions on the basis of error-corrected official statistics, i.e. based on better information.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d85eeff elementor-widget__width-inherit elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d85eeff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Describe the activities exploring the pathway from ground-breaking research towards innovation: <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-85866a9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"85866a9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC.jpg\" data-elementor-open-lightbox=\"yes\" data-elementor-lightbox-title=\"The objectives of the proposed PoC\" data-e-action-hash=\"#elementor-action%3Aaction%3Dlightbox%26settings%3DeyJpZCI6MTMzNCwidXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6XC9cL2NvbWJpbmVwcm9qZWN0LmV1XC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI1XC8wNlwvVGhlLW9iamVjdGl2ZXMtb2YtdGhlLXByb3Bvc2VkLVBvQy5qcGcifQ%3D%3D\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-1334\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC.jpg 1440w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC-300x100.jpg 300w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC-1024x341.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC-768x256.jpg 768w, https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/The-objectives-of-the-proposed-PoC-18x6.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px\">\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figcaption class=\"widget-image-caption wp-caption-text\">Figure 2: The objectives of the proposed PoC<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-29e83b2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"29e83b2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the context of the GSBPM<a href=\"#ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref1\">[2]<\/a>, NSIs perform statistical business processes to create official statistics to satisfy the needs of the users. The PoC <strong>will intervene within different parts of the GSBPM<\/strong>, which is used by NSIs to introduce new official statistics. In our case, GSBPM needs further specification as, so far, official statistics are mostly counts of observed data and not model estimates. In this respect, four objectives are defined within COMBINE:<\/p><p><strong>Objective 1<\/strong>: <strong>Preliminary assessment of data quality<\/strong> on social assistance benefits. This builds on the preliminary work that has already been conducted at CBS. It will involve the full illustration of inconsistencies of the information on social assistance benefits in the two registers.<\/p><p><strong>Objective 2<\/strong>: <strong>Produce error-corrected statistics on social assistance<\/strong>. Most of the attention of COMBINE will be devoted to this objective. By analysing data on social assistance benefits from two registers with our statistical model, we will produce the statistics of interest. Moreover, by using several explanatory variables (e.g. age, gender, household composition, migration status), we will also explore the possible causes of measurement error and derive recommendations for improvement of the source datasets.\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Objective 3<\/strong>:<strong> Compare<\/strong> the outcome and the process of our error-correction method<strong> with alternative approaches<\/strong>, such as editing (which is currently applied) and macro-integration. In this way, we can evaluate the added value (in terms of effectiveness and efficiency) of our error-correction method.<\/p><p><strong>Objective 4<\/strong>: <strong>Evaluate and <\/strong><strong>disseminate the results to other NSIs and to policy makers<\/strong>. Within this objective, we will illustrate to policy makers and professionals how the (more) reliable official statistics that we produced can improve policy making and public debate. Moreover, we will address other NSIs to illustrate how the error-correction method that we applied can improve in an efficient and inexpensive way the quality of the official statistics that they produce. To this end, an implementation, and dissemination plan, including stakeholder analysis, are developed under this objective.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7fc8ef elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c7fc8ef\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"ftn1\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><sup>[1] This study used data from 2007 from the UWV register and the Labour Force Survey (LFS). According to the LFS, within 3 months, 5.7% of workers with a temporary contract find a job with a permanent contract. According to the UWV register, this percentage is 8.5%. but when correcting for measurement error, this percentage becomes only 3.2%.<\/sup><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-308f7b9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"308f7b9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" id=\"ftn2\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><sup>[2] GSBPM is developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), on behalf of the international statistical community. For a full description see: <a href=\"https:\/\/statswiki.unece.org\/display\/GSBPM\/GSBPM+v5.1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/statswiki.unece.org\/display\/GSBPM\/GSBPM+v5.1<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RESEARCH &#8211; The project applies a model-based error-detection and correction method using a hidden Markov model. This approach triangulates data from the municipal register and the employment register to minimize uncertainty and improve the precision of official statistics.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1355,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-886","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/886","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=886"}],"version-history":[{"count":60,"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/886\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1361,"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/886\/revisions\/1361"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/combineproject.eu\/nl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}