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Measuring consumption over the phone: Evidence from a survey experiment in urban Ethiopia

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  • Gashaw Abate
  • Alan de Brauw
  • Kalle Hirvonen
  • Abdulazize Wolle

Abstract

The paucity of reliable, timely household consumption data in many low- and middle-income countries has made it difficult to assess how global poverty has evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic. Standard poverty measurement requires collecting household consumption data, which is rarely done by phone. To test the feasibility of collecting consumption data over the phone, we conducted a survey experiment in urban Ethiopia, randomly assigning households to either phone or in-person interviews.

Suggested Citation

  • Gashaw Abate & Alan de Brauw & Kalle Hirvonen & Abdulazize Wolle, 2022. "Measuring consumption over the phone: Evidence from a survey experiment in urban Ethiopia," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-93, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2022-93
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    4. Pablo Álvarez-Aragón & Hugues Champeaux, 2024. "Measuring Norms and Enumerator Effects: Survey Method Matters," DeFiPP Working Papers 2401, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Household survey; Ethiopia; Survey data; Household consumption;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

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