The commodity chain of the household: from survey design to policy and practice

Coast, Ernestina ORCID: 0000-0002-8703-307X, Randall, Sara and Leone, Tiziana ORCID: 0000-0001-9671-5382 (2009) The commodity chain of the household: from survey design to policy and practice. In: XXVI IUSSP International Population Conference, 2009-09-27 - 2009-10-02, Marrakech, Morocco, MAR. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Data collection and analysis and policy formulation all require a social unit to be defined, generally called the household. Multidisciplinary evidence shows that households as defined by survey practitioners often bear little resemblance to lived socio-economic units. This study examines how a shared language, the 'household', can generate misunderstandings because different groups with distinctive understandings of the term 'household' are often unaware that others may be using ‘household’ differently. Results from 4 interlinked and iterative methods are presented: review of household survey documentation (1950s-present); ethnographic ground-truthing fieldwork; in-depth key informant interviews; and modelling. Results show that whereas data collectors have a clear idea of what a `household` is, data users are often unaware of the nuances of the constraints imposed by data collection. This has implications for policy planning and practice. What interviewees consider when they think of their household can differ systematically from data collectors' definitions.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Official URL:	http://iussp2009.princeton.edu/default.aspx
Additional Information:	© 2009 The Authors
Divisions:	Social Policy LSE Health
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
JEL classification:	C - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods > C8 - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs
Date Deposited:	11 Jul 2011 14:57
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 14:06
Projects:	The commodity chain of the household: from survey design to policy planning
Funders:	Economic and Social Research Council
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/36787

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