Working Paper: NBER ID: w29652
Authors: Pablo A. Celhay; Bruce D. Meyer; Nikolas Mittag
Abstract: Measurement errors are often a large source of bias in survey data. Lack of knowledge of the determinants of such errors makes it difficult for data producers to reduce the extent of errors and for data users to assess the validity of analyses using the data. We study the determinants of reporting error using high quality administrative data on government transfers linked to three major U.S. surveys. Our results support several theories of misreporting: Errors are related to event recall, forward and backward telescoping, salience of receipt, the stigma of reporting participation in welfare programs and respondent’s degree of cooperation with the survey overall. We provide evidence on how survey design choices affect reporting errors. Our findings help survey users to gauge the reliability of their data and to devise estimation strategies that can correct for systematic errors, such as instrumental variable approaches. Understanding survey errors allows survey producers to reduce them by improving survey design. Our results indicate that survey producers should take into account that higher response rates as well as collecting more detailed information may have negative effects on survey accuracy.
Keywords: measurement error; survey data; program participation; government transfers
JEL Codes: C81; D31; I32; I38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| increased time (C41) | greater recall errors (C83) |
| greater recall errors (C83) | false negative responses (C52) |
| salience of government transfers (H53) | accurate reporting (Y10) |
| stigma associated with reporting welfare participation (I38) | underreporting (C24) |
| survey design choices (C83) | accuracy of reporting (C83) |
| proxy interviews (D79) | accuracy of reporting (C83) |