On the Robustness of the Ifo Business Climate Index in Relation to Missing Values

The Ifo Institute has collected monthly data on the economic situation of companies in Germany since 1949. As in many socio-economic disciplines, direct company surveys are the tool used to collect data. A well-known phenomenon, which can occur in the surveying process, are missing data on individual questions, or even the non-completion of the entire survey. This article shows that the results of Ifo's Business Survey are very stable in terms of non-response, which does not specifically lead to a deterioration in the forecasting performance of the Business Climate Indicator.