Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
Food consumed outside the home in restaurants or other food establishments is a growing segment of consumption in many developing countries. However, the survey methods that are utilized to collect data on expenditures on food away from home are of...
| 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/670481546954395456/Poverty-Measurement-in-the-Era-of-Food-Away-from-Home-Testing-Alternative-Approaches-in-Vietnam http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31135 |
| Summary: | Food consumed outside the home in
restaurants or other food establishments is a growing
segment of consumption in many developing countries.
However, the survey methods that are utilized to collect
data on expenditures on food away from home are often
simplistic and could potentially result in inaccurate
reporting. This study addresses the potential inaccuracy of
commonly used methods and tests potentially superior methods
to inform best practices when collecting data on consumption
of food away from home. A household survey experiment was
implemented in Hanoi, Vietnam, to test these different
methods. Using a food away from home consumption diary as a
benchmark, the study finds that many of the alternative
methods considered -- including asking about consumption in
one line (the existing practice in Vietnam) or asking each
individual about their food away from home -- lead to
underreporting (33 and 22 percent underestimates,
respectively). Surprisingly, using one respondent and
helping them with recall with a simple worksheet as well as
bounding (two-visits) results in food away from home
estimates that are indistinguishable from those reported in
the benchmark diary. This finding implies that there is a
more cost-effective way to collect accurate data on food
away from home than an intensive daily diary. Furthermore,
it highlights the inaccuracy associated with collecting data
on consumption of food away from home from a single question
in a survey. Although limited analysis can be conducted on
the implications for poverty, the study finds that the
profiles of the poorest households differ across different
methods of collecting information on food consumed away from home. |
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