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Experimental tests of survey responses to expenditure questions

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Author(s)
Comerford, David 
Delaney, Liam 
Harmon, Colm 
Uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/2679
Date Issued
July 2009
Date Available
05T16:40:27Z January 2011
Abstract
This paper tests for a number of survey effects in the elicitation of expenditure items. In particular we examine the extent to which individuals use features of the expenditure question to construct their answers. We test whether respondents interpret question wording as researchers intend and examine the extent to which prompts, clarifications and seemingly arbitrary features of survey design influence expenditure reports. We find that over one quarter of respondents have difficulty distinguishing between “you” and “your household” when making expenditure reports; that respondents report higher pro-rata expenditure when asked to give responses on a weekly as opposed to monthly or annual time scale; that respondents give higher estimates when using a scale with a higher mid-point; and that respondents give higher aggregated expenditure when categories are presented in a disaggregated form. In summary, expenditure reports are constructed using convenient rules of thumb and available information, which will depend on the characteristics of the respondent, the expenditure domain and features of the survey question. It is crucial to further account for these features in ongoing surveys.
Sponsorship
Not applicable
Type of Material
Working Paper
Publisher
University College Dublin. Geary Institute
Series
UCD Geary Institute Discussion Paper Series
WP 09 25
Subject – LCSH
Consumption (Economics)--Surveys--Methodology
Household surveys--Methodology
Web versions
http://ideas.repec.org/p/ucd/wpaper/200925.html
Language
English
Status of Item
Not peer reviewed
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/
Owning collection
Geary Institute Working Papers
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