Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment
This paper reports on a randomized experiment conducted among Malawian agricultural households to study nonclassical measurement error (NCME) in self-reported plot area, and farmers' responses to new information — the objective plot area measure — subsequently provided to them. Farmers' pre-treatmen...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , |
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| Formato: | Journal Article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
Elsevier
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131301 |
| _version_ | 1855522319041036288 |
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| author | Abay, Kibrom A. Barrett, Christopher B. Kilic, Talip Moylan, Heather Ilukor, John Vundru, Wilbert Drazi |
| author_browse | Abay, Kibrom A. Barrett, Christopher B. Ilukor, John Kilic, Talip Moylan, Heather Vundru, Wilbert Drazi |
| author_facet | Abay, Kibrom A. Barrett, Christopher B. Kilic, Talip Moylan, Heather Ilukor, John Vundru, Wilbert Drazi |
| author_sort | Abay, Kibrom A. |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | This paper reports on a randomized experiment conducted among Malawian agricultural households to study nonclassical measurement error (NCME) in self-reported plot area, and farmers' responses to new information — the objective plot area measure — subsequently provided to them. Farmers' pre-treatment self-reported plot areas exhibit considerable NCME. Most of the measurement error follows a regression-to-mean pattern with respect to plot area, and another 18 percent arises from asymmetric rounding to half acre increments. Randomized provision of GPS-based measures of true plot area generates four important findings. First, most treated farmers’ self-reports exhibit no reduction in NCME 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, as well as the magnitude and direction of initial NCME. 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 spillover across variables. NCME clearly carries implications for survey data collection methods, econometric inference, and the design of information-based interventions. It might also reflect behavioral anomalies that may matter for farm management practices, input allocation, agricultural productivity, and the design of effective interventions. |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | CGSpace131301 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| publisherStr | Elsevier |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1313012025-10-26T13:01:28Z Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment Abay, Kibrom A. Barrett, Christopher B. Kilic, Talip Moylan, Heather Ilukor, John Vundru, Wilbert Drazi agriculture data data analysis households land area parcels surveys This paper reports on a randomized experiment conducted among Malawian agricultural households to study nonclassical measurement error (NCME) in self-reported plot area, and farmers' responses to new information — the objective plot area measure — subsequently provided to them. Farmers' pre-treatment self-reported plot areas exhibit considerable NCME. Most of the measurement error follows a regression-to-mean pattern with respect to plot area, and another 18 percent arises from asymmetric rounding to half acre increments. Randomized provision of GPS-based measures of true plot area generates four important findings. First, most treated farmers’ self-reports exhibit no reduction in NCME 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, as well as the magnitude and direction of initial NCME. 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 spillover across variables. NCME clearly carries implications for survey data collection methods, econometric inference, and the design of information-based interventions. It might also reflect behavioral anomalies that may matter for farm management practices, input allocation, agricultural productivity, and the design of effective interventions. 2023-09 2023-07-26T13:52:48Z 2023-07-26T13:52:48Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131301 en Open Access Elsevier Abay, Kibrom A.; Barrett, Christopher B.; Kilic, Talip; Moylan, Heather; Ilukor, John; and Vundru, Wilbert Drazi. 2023. Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment. Journal of Development Economics 164(September 2023): 103136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103136 |
| spellingShingle | agriculture data data analysis households land area parcels surveys Abay, Kibrom A. Barrett, Christopher B. Kilic, Talip Moylan, Heather Ilukor, John Vundru, Wilbert Drazi Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title | Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title_full | Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title_fullStr | Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title_short | Nonclassical measurement error and farmers’ response to information treatment |
| title_sort | nonclassical measurement error and farmers response to information treatment |
| topic | agriculture data data analysis households land area parcels surveys |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/131301 |
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