Methods of Household Consumption Measurement Through Surveys : Experimental Results from Tanzania

Consumption expenditure has long been the preferred measure of household living standards. However, accurate measurement is a challenge and household expenditure surveys vary widely across many dimensions, including the level of reporting, the length of the reference period, and the degree of commodity detail. These variations occur both across countries and also over time within countries. There is little current understanding of the implications of such changes for spatially and temporally consistent measurement of household consumption and poverty. A field experiment in Tanzania tests eight alternative methods to measure household consumption on a sample of 4,000 households. There are significant differences between consumption reported by the benchmark personal diary and other diary and recall formats. Under-reporting is particularly relevant in illiterate households and for urban respondents completing household diaries; recall modules measure lower consumption than a personal diary, with larger gaps among poorer households and households with more adult members. Variations in reporting accuracy by household characteristics are also discussed and differences in measured poverty as a result of survey design are explored. The study concludes with recommendations for methods of survey based consumption measurement in low-income countries.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Beegle, Kathleen, De Weerdt, Joachim, Friedman, Jed, Gibson, John
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	2010-12-01
Subjects:	ABSOLUTE POVERTY, ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE, AGGREGATE MEASURE, AGGREGATE POVERTY, ASSESSING WELFARE, ASSET WEALTH, CASE STUDY, CHANGES IN POVERTY, COMMODITY, CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEY, CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEYS, CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, CONSUMPTION AGGREGATE, CONSUMPTION DATA, CONSUMPTION DISTRIBUTION, CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES, CONSUMPTION GOODS, CONSUMPTION INFORMATION, CONSUMPTION MEASURE, CONSUMPTION MEASURES, CONSUMPTION MODULES, CONSUMPTION POVERTY, CONSUMPTION SURVEYS, DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS, DEVELOPMENT ISSUES, DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH, DIETARY DIVERSITY, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC REVIEW, EXPENDITURE DATA, EXPENDITURE LEVEL, FIREWOOD, FOOD CONSUMPTION, FOOD CONSUMPTION DATA, FOOD CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, FOOD EXPENDITURE, FOOD EXPENDITURES, FOOD ITEM, FOOD ITEMS, FUTURE CONSUMPTION, HIGHER INEQUALITY, HOUSEHOLD BUDGET, HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEYS, HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTIC, HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURE, HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE, HOUSEHOLD HEAD, HOUSEHOLD HEADS, HOUSEHOLD INCOME, HOUSEHOLD LIVING STANDARDS, HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS, HOUSEHOLD RESOURCES, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HOUSEHOLD SURVEY, HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS, HOUSEHOLD WELFARE, HOUSEHOLDS, HOUSING, IDIOSYNCRATIC SHOCKS, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INCOME INEQUALITY, INDICATORS FOR POVERTY, INTERNATIONAL POVERTY LINE, LEVELS OF CONSUMPTION, LEVELS OF FOOD CONSUMPTION, LIVING STANDARDS MEASUREMENT, LIVING STANDARDS SURVEY, MEAN VALUE, MEASURED CONSUMPTION, MEASURED POVERTY, MEASURING POVERTY, NON-FOOD CONSUMPTION, NON-FOOD EXPENDITURE, NON-FOOD ITEMS, PER CAPITA CONSUMPTION, PERSONAL CONSUMPTION, POLICY RESEARCH, POOR, POOR HOUSEHOLDS, POOR PERSONS, POORER HOUSEHOLDS, POVERTY ANALYSIS, POVERTY COMPARISONS, POVERTY ESTIMATES, POVERTY GAP, POVERTY HEADCOUNT RATE, POVERTY INDICATOR, POVERTY LEVELS, POVERTY LINE, POVERTY LINES, POVERTY MEASURE, POVERTY MEASUREMENT, POVERTY MEASURES, POVERTY RATE, POVERTY REDUCTION, POVERTY STATUS, POVERTY STUDIES, RANDOM VARIABLE, RELATIVE RANKINGS, RURAL, RURAL AREAS, RURAL COUNTERPARTS, RURAL HOUSEHOLDS, RURAL REGIONS, SAVINGS, SCHOOLING, SEASONAL CONDITIONS, SEPARATE POVERTY LINES, STANDARD ERRORS, TARGETING, TOTAL CONSUMPTION, TOTAL EXPENDITURE, URBAN AREA, URBAN AREAS, URBAN HOUSEHOLDS, WELFARE INDICATORS, WELFARE MEASURE,
Online Access:	http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/main?menuPK=64187510&pagePK=64193027&piPK=64187937&theSitePK=523679&menuPK=64187510&searchMenuPK=64187283&siteName=WDS&entityID=000158349_20101213140710 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/3986
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