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Surveying migrant households: a comparison of census‐based, snowball and intercept point surveys

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  • David J. McKenzie
  • Johan Mistiaen

Abstract

Summary. Few representative surveys of households of migrants exist, limiting our ability to study the effects of international migration on sending families. We report the results of an experiment that was designed to compare the performance of three alternative survey methods in collecting data from Japanese–Brazilian families, many of whom send migrants to Japan. The three surveys that were conducted were households selected randomly from a door‐to‐door listing using the Brazilian census to select census blocks, a snowball survey using Nikkei community groups to select the seeds and an intercept point survey that was collected at Nikkei community gatherings, ethnic grocery stores, sports clubs and other locations where family members of migrants are likely to congregate. We analyse how closely well‐designed snowball and intercept point surveys can approach the much more expensive census‐based method in terms of giving information on the characteristics of migrants, the level of remittances received and the incidence and determinants of return migration.

Suggested Citation

  • David J. McKenzie & Johan Mistiaen, 2009. "Surveying migrant households: a comparison of census‐based, snowball and intercept point surveys," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 172(2), pages 339-360, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jorssa:v:172:y:2009:i:2:p:339-360
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-985X.2009.00584.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. David McKenzie & John Gibson & Steven Stillman, 2006. "How Important is Selection? Experimental vs Non-experimental Measures of the Income Gains of Migration," Working Papers 06_02, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    2. McKenzie, David & Gibson, John & Stillman, Steven, 2006. "How important is selection ? Experimental versus non-experimental measures of the income gains from migration," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3906, The World Bank.
    3. Junichi Goto, 2006. "Latin Americans of the Japanese Origin (Nikkeijin) Working in Japan --- A survey," Discussion Paper Series 185, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    4. Tsuda, Takeyuki, 1999. "The Motivation to Migrate: The Ethnic and Sociocultural Constitution of the Japanese-Brazilian Return-Migration System," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 48(1), pages 1-31, October.
    5. Douglas Massey & Audrey Singer, 1995. "New Estimates of Undocumented Mexican Migration and the Probability of Apprehension," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 32(2), pages 203-213, May.
    6. David McKenzie & Steven Stillman & John Gibson, 2010. "How Important is Selection? Experimental VS. Non‐Experimental Measures of the Income Gains from Migration," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 8(4), pages 913-945, June.
    7. Osili, Una Okonkwo, 2007. "Remittances and savings from international migration: Theory and evidence using a matched sample," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 446-465, July.
    8. World Bank, 2005. "Global Economic Prospects 2006 : Economic Implications of Remittances and Migration," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 7306.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C42 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Survey Methods
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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