Are Subjective Questions on Welfare Appropriate during Crises? : Evidence from the Onset of Conflict in the Republic of Yemen
Subjective questions on welfare, such as satisfaction with particular welfare dimensions, are increasingly being used to measure changes in well-being during crises. Although subjective questions on welfare have well-known limitations, it is possible that analyzing changes in response to large events can address some of these concerns. However, this paper illustrates a new difficulty in interpreting changes in such measures in tumultuous circumstances. Specifically, crises can impact both the scale with which households report their subjective assessments and the behaviors from which deprivations are traditionally inferred, and it is unclear how well subjective measures align with traditional welfare metrics in such a setting. This paper demonstrates the importance of this issue following the onset of the conflict in the Republic of Yemen, which caused large declines in nearly all traditional measures of well-being. However, the findings show that households reported a large increase in satisfaction in the same welfare dimensions where deprivations increased.
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC: World Bank
2022-09
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| Subjects: | VIOLENCE DATA, TERRORISM, WORLD FOOD PROGRAM MONTHLY SURVEY, DISPLACEMENT, VIOLENCE AND DISPLACEMENT, CONFLICT, PROXIMITY TO VIOLENCE, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099329009142223756/IDU06ca2ef8a0b8400459d09f400e9038b642fb6 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/38029 |
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| Summary: | Subjective questions on welfare, such
as satisfaction with particular welfare dimensions, are
increasingly being used to measure changes in well-being
during crises. Although subjective questions on welfare have
well-known limitations, it is possible that analyzing
changes in response to large events can address some of
these concerns. However, this paper illustrates a new
difficulty in interpreting changes in such measures in
tumultuous circumstances. Specifically, crises can impact
both the scale with which households report their subjective
assessments and the behaviors from which deprivations are
traditionally inferred, and it is unclear how well
subjective measures align with traditional welfare metrics
in such a setting. This paper demonstrates the importance of
this issue following the onset of the conflict in the
Republic of Yemen, which caused large declines in nearly all
traditional measures of well-being. However, the findings
show that households reported a large increase in
satisfaction in the same welfare dimensions where
deprivations increased. |
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