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The Political Economy of Bad Data: Evidence from African Survey and Administrative Statistics

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  • Justin Sandefur
  • Amanda Glassman

Abstract

Across multiple African countries, discrepancies between administrative data and independent household surveys suggest official statistics systematically exaggerate development progress. We provide evidence for two distinct explanations of these discrepancies. First, governments misreport to foreign donors, as in the case of a results-based aid programme rewarding reported vaccination rates. Second, national governments are themselves misled by frontline service providers, as in the case of primary education, where official enrolment numbers diverged from survey estimates after funding shifted from user fees to per pupil government grants. Both syndromes highlight the need for incentive compatibility between data systems and funding rules.

Suggested Citation

  • Justin Sandefur & Amanda Glassman, 2015. "The Political Economy of Bad Data: Evidence from African Survey and Administrative Statistics," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(2), pages 116-132, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:51:y:2015:i:2:p:116-132
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2014.968138
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Tessa Bold, Mwangi Kimenyi, Germano Mwabu, Justin Sandefur, 2011. "The High Return to Private Schooling in a Low-Income Country- Working Paper 279," Working Papers 279, Center for Global Development.
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