Recall Length and Measurement Error in Agricultural Surveys
This paper assesses the relationship between the length of recall and nonrandom error in agricultural survey data. Using data from the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture in Malawi and Tanzania, th...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/480391580307558702/Recall-Length-and-Measurement-Error-in-Agricultural-Surveys http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33264 |
| Summary: | This paper assesses the relationship
between the length of recall and nonrandom error in
agricultural survey data. Using data from the World
Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated
Surveys on Agriculture in Malawi and Tanzania, the paper
shows that key input and output variables are systematically
related to the length of the recall period, indicating the
presence of nonrandom measurement error. With longer recall
periods, farmers report greater quantities of harvest,
labor, and fertilizer inputs. Farmers list fewer plots as
the recall period increases. The paper argues that it is
plausible that farmers overestimate plot-level outcomes, or
they forget some of their more marginal plots due to longer
recall periods. The analysis also finds evidence of
measurement error related to the length of recall in common
measures of agricultural productivity. The size of the
recall effect typically varies between 2 and 5 percent per
additional month of recall length, which is economically
significant. With data reliability affecting policy
effectiveness, improving agricultural survey data quality
remains an important concern. Mainstreaming objective
measures where possible and reducing the risk of recall
error through shorter recall periods appear to be promising
avenues to improve the quality of key variables in
agricultural surveys. |
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