Measuring Farm Labor : Survey Experimental Evidence from Ghana
This study examines recall bias in farm labor by conducting a randomized survey experiment in Ghana. Hours of farm labor obtained from a recall survey conducted at the end of the season are compared with data collected weekly throughout the season....
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2019
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/567781548268138173/Measuring-Farm-Labor-Survey-Experimental-Evidence-from-Ghana http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31185 |
| Summary: | This study examines recall bias in farm
labor by conducting a randomized survey experiment in Ghana.
Hours of farm labor obtained from a recall survey conducted
at the end of the season are compared with data collected
weekly throughout the season. The study finds that the
recall method overestimates farm labor per person per plot
by about 10 percent, controlling for observable differences
at baseline. Recall bias in farm labor per person per plot
is accounted for by the fact that households in the recall
group report fewer marginal plots and farm workers, denoted
here as listing bias. This listing bias also creates a
countervailing effect on hours of farm labor at higher
levels of aggregation, so that the recall method
underestimates farm labor per plot and per household and
overestimates the labor productivity of household-operated
farms. Consistent with the notion that recall bias is linked
to the cognitive burden of reporting on past events, the
study finds that recall bias in farm labor has a strong
educational gradient. |
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