Who Should be Interviewed in Surveys of Household Income?

• DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.11.024
• Publication Date: 2009-12-22T09:08:18Z
• Authors: Monica Fisher; Jeffrey J. Reimer; Edward R. Carr
• Keywords: household surveys; Malawi; Household income, Poverty, household dynamics, Gender, Household surveys, Development strategies,; Geography; poverty; Population; 05 social sciences; 1. No poverty; Africa, gender, household dynamics, household surveys, Malawi, poverty, International Development, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods,; Human Geography; and Ecology; World Development; Africa; 0502 economics and business; gender; Africa, gender, household dynamics, household surveys, Malawi, poverty, Agricultural Finance,; household dynamics; Demography

Summary This study tests the null hypothesis that it is sufficient to interview only the household head to obtain accurate information on household income. Results show that using a husband’s estimate of his wife’s income does not produce statistically reliable results for poverty analysis. Estimates of the wife’s income provided by the husband and wife are in agreement in only 6% of households. While limiting interviews to one person has the advantage of reducing the time and expense of household surveys, this appears detrimental in terms of accuracy, and may lead to incorrect conclusions on the determinants of poverty.