Better to be indirect? Testing the accuracy and cost-savings of community leader surveys

Targeting anti-poverty programs relies heavily on household survey data, normally collected specifically for the program.

Though effective, cost implications for the program and on the selected households are high. Professor Alix-Garcia will present investigations into the use of key informants as an alternative targeting method. The research finds asset and poverty indices calculated from key informants to be highly correlated with those based on data collected from households. She will also discuss how these indexes perform in a simple regression analysis. In the context of this study, the cost saving potential of this approach is estimated at 50%.

SPEAKER:

Jennifer Alix-Garcia is head of the Department of Applied Economics and Director of the Sustainability Double Degree program at Oregon State University. Her research focuses on environment and development, economic geography, and the impacts of forced migration. She received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley's Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.