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...

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Main Authors: Farfan, Gabriela, McGee, Kevin Robert, Perng, Julie, Vakis, Renos
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2019
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
id okr-10986-31135
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-311352022-08-01T00:24:54Z Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam Farfan, Gabriela McGee, Kevin Robert Perng, Julie Vakis, Renos SURVEY METHODOLOGY FOOD CONSUMPTION WELFARE MEASUREMENT POVERTY DATA COLLECTION 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. 2019-01-09T22:17:42Z 2019-01-09T22:17:42Z 2019-01 Working Paper 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 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8692 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia and Pacific Vietnam
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic SURVEY METHODOLOGY
FOOD CONSUMPTION
WELFARE MEASUREMENT
POVERTY
DATA COLLECTION
spellingShingle SURVEY METHODOLOGY
FOOD CONSUMPTION
WELFARE MEASUREMENT
POVERTY
DATA COLLECTION
Farfan, Gabriela
McGee, Kevin Robert
Perng, Julie
Vakis, Renos
Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
geographic_facet East Asia and Pacific
Vietnam
relation Policy Research Working Paper;No. 8692
description 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.
format Working Paper
author Farfan, Gabriela
McGee, Kevin Robert
Perng, Julie
Vakis, Renos
author_facet Farfan, Gabriela
McGee, Kevin Robert
Perng, Julie
Vakis, Renos
author_sort Farfan, Gabriela
title Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
title_short Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
title_full Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
title_fullStr Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
title_full_unstemmed Poverty Measurement in the Era of Food Away from Home : Testing Alternative Approaches in Vietnam
title_sort poverty measurement in the era of food away from home : testing alternative approaches in vietnam
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2019
url 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
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