The Insights and Illusions of Consumption Measurements

Battistin, Erich ; De Nadai, Michele ; Krishnan, Nandini

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION;    HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEYS;    INEQUALITY;    POVERTY;    HOUSEHOLD WELFARE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-9255
RP-ID  :  WPS9255

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Although household well-being isanchored in long-term average rates of consumption, welfarecomparisons typically rely on shorter-duration surveymeasurements. This paper develops a new strategy to identifythe distribution of these long-term rates by leveraging alarge-scale randomization that elicited repeatedshort-duration measurements from diaries and recallquestions. Identification stems from diary-recalldifferences in reports from the same household, does notrequire these reports to be error-free, and hinges on aresearch design with broad replicability. This strategydelivers cost-effective suggestions for designing surveymodules to yield the most accurate measurements ofconsumption well-being, and offers new insights forinterpreting and reconciling diary-recall differences inhousehold expenditure surveys.