Economic Resources Data Collection and Measurement.pptVIP

Economic Resources Data Collection and Measurement South Africa case Study UN EXPERT GROUP MEETING 9TH September 2008 Kefiloe Masiteng INTRODUCTION Detailed income and expenditure data have been enumerated in South Africa’s Income and Expenditure Surveys (IES) in 1995, 2000 and 2005 Used to establish the weights in the basket of goods to construct the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Traditionally data has been collected by the “recall” method, whereby respondents are confronted with a set of questions, prompting them for past expenditures in a specified period substantial fall in food shares registered in IES2005 compared to the previous surveys Approach and Background Changes in estimates based on surveys are as much a product of behavioural changes of respondents as they are of changes in survey design It is therefore useful in the current setting to have two “recall surveys” (IES1995 and IES2000) and one mixed (recall and diary) survey (IES2005) to aid comparison The implementation of the diary was motivated precisely due to concerns that data quality needed to be improved In particular, frequently consumed items are believed to be more accurately recorded in a diary compared to the recall method HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEYS The IES fieldwork was conducted during the period September 2005 to August 2006 IESs of 1995 and 2000, when a recall method was used, the latest IES made extensive use of diaries in which respondents recorded their results The primary purpose of the 2005/06 IES was to provide an updated set of weights for the consumer price index (CPI) The secondary objective was to provide relative information on private consumption expenditure for the national accounts HOUSEHOLD BUDGET SURVEYS Given the wealth of information provided by the IES, it will undoubtedly be used for a wide variety of other purposes from marketing intelligence to academic research and to public policy 2001: Measuring poverty in South Africa Poverty mapping u