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Rarely pure and never simple: extracting the truth from self-reported data on substance use

Author

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  • Stephen Pudney

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Social and Economic Research)

Abstract

We consider the misreporting of illicit drug use and juvenile smoking in self-report surveys and its consequences for statistical inference. Panel data containing repeated self-reports of 'lifetime' prevalence give unambiguous evidence of misreporting as 'recanting' of earlier reports of drug use. The identification of true initiation and reporting processes from such data is problematic in short panels, whilst more secure identification is possible in panels with at least five waves. Nevertheless, evidence from three UK datasets clearly indicates serious underreporting of cannabis, cocaine and tobacco use by young people, with consequent large biases in statistical modelling.

Suggested Citation

  • Stephen Pudney, 2007. "Rarely pure and never simple: extracting the truth from self-reported data on substance use," CeMMAP working papers CWP11/07, Centre for Microdata Methods and Practice, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:cemmap:11/07
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    File URL: http://cemmap.ifs.org.uk/wps/cwp1107.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Matthias Parey & Imran Rasul, 2021. "Measuring the Market Size for Cannabis: A New Approach Using Forensic Economics," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 88(350), pages 297-338, April.
    2. William Greene & Mark N. Harris & Preety Srivastava & Xueyan Zhao, 2018. "Misreporting and econometric modelling of zeros in survey data on social bads: An application to cannabis consumption," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2), pages 372-389, February.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C41 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Duration Analysis; Optimal Timing Strategies
    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other

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