Nonclassical Measurement Error and Farmers’ Response to Information Reveal Behavioral Anomalies
This paper reports on a randomized experiment conducted among Malawian agricultural households to study nonclassical measurement error in self-reported plot area and farmers’ responses to new information (the objective plot area measure) that was p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/737051643050587043/Nonclassical-Measurement-Error-and-Farmers-Response-to-Information-Reveal-Behavioral-Anomalies http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36879 |
| Summary: | This paper reports on a randomized
experiment conducted among Malawian agricultural households
to study nonclassical measurement error in self-reported
plot area and farmers’ responses to new information (the
objective plot area measure) that was provided to correct
nonclassical measurement error. Farmers' pre-treatment
self-reported plot areas exhibit considerable nonclassical
measurement error, most of which follows a
regression-to-mean pattern with respect to plot area, and
another 18 percent of which arises from asymmetric rounding
to half-acre increments. Randomized provision of GPS-based
measures of true plot area generates four important
findings. First, farmers incompletely update mistaken
self-reports; most nonclassical measurement error persists
even after the provision of true plot area measures. Second,
farmers update asymmetrically in response to information,
with upward corrections being far more common than downward
ones even though most plot sizes were initially
overestimated. Third, the magnitude of updating varies by
true plot area and the magnitude and direction of initial
nonclassical measurement error. Fourth, the information
treatment affects self-reported information about non-land
inputs, such as fertilizer and labor, indicating that the
effects of measurement error and updating spill over across
variables. Nonclassical measurement error reflects
behavioral anomalies and carries implications for both
survey data collection methods and the design of
information-based interventions. |
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