Measuring Ownership, Control, and Use of Assets

Assets generate and help diversify income, alleviate liquidity constraints, and are key inputs into empowerment. Despite the importance of individual-level data on asset ownership, and the fact that most assets are owned by individuals, either solely or jointly, researchers typically collect micro d...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kilic, Talip, Doss, Cheryl, Kieran, Caitlin
Format: Journal Article
Published: Taylor and Francis 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35280
Description
Summary:Assets generate and help diversify income, alleviate liquidity constraints, and are key inputs into empowerment. Despite the importance of individual-level data on asset ownership, and the fact that most assets are owned by individuals, either solely or jointly, researchers typically collect micro data on asset ownership at the household level. Through a review of the existing approaches to data collection and the relevant literature on survey methodology, this study presents an overview of the current best practices for collecting individual-level data on the ownership and control of assets in household and farm surveys in low- and middle-income countries. The paper provides recommendations in three areas: (1) respondent selection, (2) definition and measurement of access to and ownership and control of assets, and (3) measurement of quantity, value, and quality of assets. It identifies open methodological questions that can be answered through further research.