Over the past 15 years, the availability of cheap and
convenient microcomputers has changed the collection
methods and analysis of household survey data in
developing countries, making the data available within
months, rather than years. Simultaneously, analysts have
become more interested in exploring ways in which such
data may be used to inform and improve the steps
involved in policymaking. This book reviews the analysis
of household survey data, including the construction of
household surveys, the econometric tools that are the
most useful for such analysis, and a range of problems
in development policy for which the econometric analysis
of household surveys is useful and informative. The
author's approach remains close to the data, relying on
transparent econometric and graphical techniques to
present the data so that policy and academic debates are
clearly informed. The author illustrates the analysis
through examples of policy issues from several
countries, including Cote d'Ivoire, India, Pakistan,
Taiwan (China), and Thailand. Two introductory chapters
discuss the content and construction of surveys, as well
as the econometric methods that can be used with survey
data.Survey design and sampling are covered in some
detail, as are the effect of survey design on the
calculation of statistics and the estimation of
parameters. A chapter on econometrics explores issues
such as heteroskedasticity, sample selection, and
instrumental variables. Four chapters focus on poverty
and inequality, demand analysis and intrahousehold
allocation, price and tax reform, and savings. Each
chapter presents a self-contained development of the
topic, introduces the important empirical issues, and
provides substantive results. The book also includes the
computer code used to calculate the results so that
readers can adapt the methods to yield similar results
for other data. |
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