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Reliability of recall in agricultural data

Author

Listed:
  • Beegle, Kathleen
  • Carletto, Calogero
  • Himelein, Kristen

Abstract

Despite the importance of agriculture to economic development, and a vast accompanying literature on the subject, little research has been done on data quality. Due to survey logistics, agricultural data are usually collected by asking respondents to recall the details of events occurring during past agricultural seasons, potentially leading to recall bias. The problem is further complicated when interviews are conducted over the course of several months, thus leading to recall of variable length. To test for recall bias, the length of time between harvest and interview is examined for three African countries with respect to several common agricultural input and harvest measures. The analysis shows little evidence of large recall bias impacting data quality. There is some indication that more salient events are less subject to recall decay. Overall, the results allay some concerns about the quality of some types of agricultural data collected through recall over lengthy periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Beegle, Kathleen & Carletto, Calogero & Himelein, Kristen, 2012. "Reliability of recall in agricultural data," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(1), pages 34-41.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:98:y:2012:i:1:p:34-41
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2011.09.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agriculture; Measurement error; Recall;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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