Measuring Employment: Experimental Evidence from Urban Ghana. (12th June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Heath, Rachel; Mansuri, Ghazala; Rijkers, Bob; Seitz, William; Sharma, Dhiraj
• Is Part Of: World Bank economic review. Volume 35:Number 3(2021)
• Page Start: 635
• Page End: 651
• Publication Date: 2020-06-12
• Subjects: labor statistics -- labor force surveys -- reference period -- interview mode -- self-employment -- survey design -- phone-based surveys; Economic development -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Economic policy -- Periodicals; 330.91724
• DOI: 10.1093/wber/lhaa014
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0258-6770

Abstract

Abstract: Using a randomized survey experiment in urban Ghana, this paper demonstrates that the length of the reference period and the interview modality (in-person or over the phone) affect how people respond in labor surveys, with impacts varying markedly by job type. Survey participants report significantly more self-employment spells when the reference period is shorter than the traditional one week, with the impacts concentrated among those in home-based and mobile self-employment. In contrast, the reference period has no impact on the incidence of wage-employment. The wage-employed do report working fewer days and hours when confronted with a shorter reference period. Finally, interviews conducted on the phone yield lower estimates of employment, hours worked, and days worked among the self-employed who are working from home or a mobile location as compared to in-person interviews.