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6 - Flawed Surveys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2020

Ankush Agrawal
Affiliation:
Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Vikas Kumar
Affiliation:
Azim Premji University, Bangalore
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Summary

Introduction

The poverty headcount ratio for Nagaland estimated using National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data varies abnormally over the years. Until 2004–5, Nagaland reported one of the lowest rural poverty rates in the country, but by the end of the decade, it was among the states with relatively high poverty rates. A substantial improvement in the reported human development and other socio-economic indicators for Nagaland (Agrawal and Kumar 2012b: Table 1), which is largely rural, seem inconsistent with growing rural poverty in the recent decade when the state has enjoyed relatively peaceful conditions after a long period of armed conflict. Another puzzling feature of NSSO surveys is the increase in the share of tribal households in its samples for Nagaland from 85 per cent in the 50th round (1993–4) to 96 per cent in the 66th round (2009–10), even though the composition of the corresponding census population has remained stable over the years (Table 4.12).

This chapter analyses the quality of household sample survey data collected by the NSSO. There are several reasons for restricting the focus to NSSO surveys. First, most national level household surveys either do not cover states in India's ethno-geographic periphery or cover them irregularly. The NSSO regularly covers peripheral states including Nagaland. We will argue that even the surveys such as the NSSO that regularly cover these states do not have sufficiently representative samples to generate reliable estimates. The data deficit – the non-availability and/ or the poor quality of data – affects developmental outcomes through its impact on policymaking. Second, the NSSO has been conducting surveys in Nagaland since the 1970s. This provides a reasonably long time series to examine how changes in the sampling design affect survey statistics. Third, other household surveys launched after 1991 do not share sufficient information about the sampling design. In comparison, the NSSO survey reports discuss sampling design in greater detail. Last but not the least, the NSSO data are the most comprehensive and widely used sources of household level statistics for India.

NSSO surveys cover a wide range of household characteristics. We will restrict our attention to monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE), which is of singular importance as it is used to estimate the incidence of poverty.

Type
Chapter
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Numbers in India's Periphery
The Political Economy of Government Statistics
, pp. 248 - 282
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

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  • Flawed Surveys
  • Ankush Agrawal, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Vikas Kumar
  • Book: Numbers in India's Periphery
  • Online publication: 24 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762229.007
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  • Flawed Surveys
  • Ankush Agrawal, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Vikas Kumar
  • Book: Numbers in India's Periphery
  • Online publication: 24 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762229.007
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Flawed Surveys
  • Ankush Agrawal, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Vikas Kumar
  • Book: Numbers in India's Periphery
  • Online publication: 24 April 2020
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762229.007
Available formats
×