Measuring Household Usage of Financial Services : Does it Matter How or Whom You Ask?

In recent years, the number of surveys of access to and use of financial services has multiplied, but little is known about whether the data generated are comparable across countries, or within the same country over time. This paper reports results from a randomized experiment in Ghana to test whether the identity of the respondent and the inclusion of product-specific cues in questions affect the reported rates of household usage of financial services. The analysis shows that rates of household usage are almost identical when the head reports on behalf of the household and when the rate is tabulated from a full enumeration of household use. Randomly selected informants (i.e., non-heads of the household) provide a less complete summary of household use of financial services than the other two methods. The findings also show that for credit from formal institutions, informal sources of savings, and insurance, usage rates are higher when questions are asked about specific financial products rather than about the respondent s dealings with types of financial institutions. In short, who is asked the questions and the form in which they are asked both matter.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Cull, Robert, Scott, Kinnon
Language:	English
Published:	2009-09-01
Subjects:	ACCESS INDICATORS, ACCESS TO ACCOUNT, ACCESS TO FINANCE, ACCESS TO FINANCIAL SERVICES, ACCOUNT HOLDERS, ACCURATE ESTIMATES, ACCURATE INFORMATION, AGRICULTURAL ACTIVITIES, ATM, ATM CARD, ATM CARDS, ATMS, BALANCE SHEET, BALANCE SHEETS, BANK ACCESS, BANK ACCOUNT, BANK ACCOUNTS, BANK BRANCHES, BANK LOAN, BANK LOANS, BANKING SECTOR, BANKING SERVICES, BANKS, BARRIER, CALCULATIONS, CDS, CENTRAL BANKS, COLLATERAL, COMMERCIAL BANK, CONTRACT ENFORCEMENT, CONTRIBUTIONS, CREDIT BANKS, CREDIT CONSTRAINTS, CREDIT HISTORIES, CREDIT UNION, CURRENT ACCOUNT, DEBIT CARD, DEBT, DEPOSIT, DEPOSITORS, DEPOSITS, DESCRIPTION, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DWELLINGS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYER, ENTREPRENEURSHIP, EXCLUSION, EXPENDITURES, FAMILIES, FAMILY MEMBERS, FEMALE, FINANCIAL DATA, FINANCIAL DEPTH, FINANCIAL DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL EXCLUSION, FINANCIAL INFORMATION, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS, FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS, FINANCIAL INTERMEDIATION, FINANCIAL ISSUES, FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE, FINANCIAL NEEDS, FINANCIAL PRODUCTS, FINANCIAL QUESTIONS, FINANCIAL SECTOR DEVELOPMENT, FINANCIAL SECTORS, FINANCIAL SERVICE, FINANCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FINANCIAL SYSTEM, FINANCIAL SYSTEMS, FORMAL BANK, FORMAL CREDIT, FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR, HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD, HEALTH INSURANCE, HOUSEHOLD ACCESS, HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES, HOUSEHOLDS, HUMAN CAPITAL, INCOME, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, INEQUALITY, INFORMAL CREDIT, INFORMAL SAVING, INFORMAL SAVINGS, INSURANCE, INSURANCE POLICIES, INSURANCE PRODUCTS, INSURANCE SERVICES, INTERNATIONAL BANK, INVESTING, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR MARKET, LIMITED ACCESS, LIVING CONDITIONS, LIVING STANDARDS, LOAN, MACROECONOMICS, MARGINAL COST, MARKETING, MFI, MICROCREDIT, MICROFINANCE, MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS, MOBILITY, MONEY MARKET, OLDER INDIVIDUALS, OUTREACH, OVERDRAFT, PENSIONS, PHYSICAL ACCESS, POSSESSIONS, POST OFFICE, POST OFFICE SAVINGS, POVERTY ALLEVIATION, PROBABILITY, PROVIDENT FUND, PUBLIC SERVICES, QUESTIONNAIRE, QUESTIONNAIRES, REGULATORS, REMOTE AREAS, RESEARCH ASSISTANCE, RESOURCE ALLOCATION, RURAL AREA, RURAL AREAS, SALARY, SAVINGS, SAVINGS ACCOUNT, SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, SAVINGS BANK, SAVINGS BANKS, SMALL ENTREPRENEURS, SMALL-SCALE ENTREPRENEURS, STOCK MARKETS, TRAINING MATERIALS, TRANSACTIONS COSTS, TREASURY, TREASURY BILLS, WORTH, YOUNG ADULTS,
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_20090910160126 https://hdl.handle.net/10986/4240
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