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Measuring Inequalities: Do Household Surveys Paint A Realistic Picture?

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  • Charlotte Guénard
  • Sandrine Mesplé‐Somps

Abstract

The paper addresses the issue of the accuracy of standard‐of‐living measurements using household survey data. First, it highlights the fact that lighter data collection processes in some developing countries have added to measurement errors in consumption and income aggregates measurement errors. The paper reasserts the need to apply reference guidelines to the measurement of household consumption in order to compute comparable distribution indicators across countries and over time. Second, it contends that it is hard to analyze inequality solely from consumption patterns without taking income and savings into account. Two solutions are proposed for the correction of income measurement errors: by using savings declarations and by implementing a multiple imputation procedure. The results are based on a careful analysis of the EPM93 survey of Madagascar whose design is quite close to the LSMS household surveys, and the ENV98 survey of Côte d'Ivoire representative of surveys conducted nowadays in most Sub‐Saharan African countries.

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  • Charlotte Guénard & Sandrine Mesplé‐Somps, 2010. "Measuring Inequalities: Do Household Surveys Paint A Realistic Picture?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 56(3), pages 519-538, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:56:y:2010:i:3:p:519-538
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4991.2010.00397.x
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    Cited by:

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    2. Thomas Goda, 2018. "The global concentration of wealth [Persistence of power, elites, and institutions]," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(1), pages 95-115.
    3. Léo Czajka, 2020. "Income Inequality in Côte d'Ivoire: 1985-2014," Working Papers halshs-02659230, HAL.
    4. Derek Yu, 2013. "Some factors influencing the comparability and reliability of poverty estimates across household surveys," Working Papers 03/2013, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    5. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2015-133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Hanvedes Daovisan & Thanapauge Chamaratana, 2018. "Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Assets That Influence Informal Garment Workers’ Livelihood Security in Laos," Societies, MDPI, vol. 8(3), pages 1-11, June.
    7. Ulrik Beck, 2015. "Keep it real: Measuring real inequality using survey data from developing countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 133, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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