CASEN

CASEN
Name	CASEN
Type	Survey
Country	Chile
Start year	1985
Frequency	Periodic
Administered by	Ministry of Social Development (Chile) / National Statistics Institute (Chile)

CASEN The CASEN survey is Chile's principal household socioeconomic survey. It measures income, employment, health, education and social protection outcomes across Chilean households, informing policy decisions by linking microdata to national programs and international comparisons.

Overview

The survey produces microdata used by Ministry of Social Development (Chile), Ministry of Health (Chile), Ministry of Education (Chile), Superintendencia de Pensiones (Chile), Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, Inter-American Development Bank, International Labour Organization, Pan American Health Organization, OECD Development Centre, Universidad de Chile, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Universidad de Concepción, Universidad Austral de Chile, Centro de Estudios Públicos, Fundación Sol, Libertad y Desarrollo, Observatorio Social for analyses of poverty, inequality, and welfare targeting. Data are routinely cited in studies by scholars such as Ricardo Ffrench-Davis, Hernán Larraín, Manuel Riesco, Nicolás Grau, Andrés Velasco, Claudio Sapelli, Alejandro Foxley, Osvaldo Sunkel, María Olivia Mönckeberg, Hernán Büchi, Jaime Guzmán and institutions like Banco Central de Chile and Comisión Nacional de Productividad (Chile).

History and Development

Originally launched in 1985 under directives tied to policy reforms associated with figures such as Augusto Pinochet, the survey evolved during administrations of Patricio Aylwin, Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Ricardo Lagos, Michelle Bachelet, Sebastián Piñera, Gabriel Boric and their respective cabinets. Technical modernization drew on cooperation with UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO, United States Agency for International Development, European Union, International Monetary Fund, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, London School of Economics, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, Yale University, Princeton University, University of Michigan, University of Pennsylvania and methodological exchanges with surveys like Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Encuesta CASEN 2006, Encuesta de Protección Social, and international censuses including the 2002 Chilean census and 2012 Chilean census.

Methodology

Sampling frameworks reference standards from United Nations Statistical Commission, International Household Survey Network, Demographic and Health Surveys, Living Standards Measurement Study, European Statistical System, and recommendations from INE (Chile), American Statistical Association and Royal Statistical Society. Questionnaires cover modules paralleling instruments used by OECD Employment Outlook, World Development Report, Human Development Report, and include variables harmonized with Luxembourg Income Study, IPUMS, Latin American Public Opinion Project, Comparative Welfare Entitlements Dataset, Harmonized World Income Database, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, and Sustainable Development Goals indicators tracked by United Nations. Fieldwork utilizes sampling strategies influenced by practices at Statistics Canada, US Census Bureau, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), and data cleaning protocols from Census and Survey Processing System-like toolkits.

Key Findings and Indicators

Analyses of CASEN data document trends in poverty reduction, income distribution, labor market informality, access to healthcare, pension coverage, and educational attainment. Reports often cite Gini coefficients, poverty headcount ratios, and multidimensional indices comparable to studies by Estudio Nacional de Empleo, Encuesta Nacional de Salud (Chile), CASEN 2015, CASEN 2017, CASEN 2020, and linked research published in journals such as Revista de Economía, Journal of Development Economics, Latin American Research Review, World Development, The Lancet, BMJ, American Economic Review, Quarterly Journal of Economics, Journal of Human Resources, Econometrica, Demography, Population Studies, Social Science & Medicine, and policy briefs by World Bank Institute.

Uses and Policy Impact

Policymakers use CASEN outputs to design conditional cash transfer programs similar to Chile Solidario, Quinta Vergara, Ingreso Ético Familiar, Chile Seguridades y Oportunidades, and to evaluate reforms such as AUGE (Chile), Reforma Previsional, Ley de Inclusión Escolar (Chile), Reforma Laboral (Chile), Ley de Migración y Extranjería (Chile), and taxation adjustments inspired by analyses from Comisión Engel, Comisión Bravo, Comisión Asesora Presidencial contra la Corrupción, and international comparisons with policy packages from Brazil Bolsa Família, Mexico Progresa, Argentina Universal Child Allowance, Peru Juntos, Colombia Familias en Acción.

Criticisms and Limitations

Critiques focus on sampling periodicity, underrepresentation of remote indigenous communities such as Mapuche, Aymara, Rapa Nui, Kawésqar, Yaghan, and measurement of informal employment vis-à-vis standards used by ILO and debates in literature by ECLAC and researchers like Hernán Büchi or Ricardo Ffrench-Davis. Methodological debates reference concerns raised in forums with Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Social (Chile), Comisión de Ciencia y Tecnología (Chile), Cámara de Diputados de Chile, Senado de Chile, Consejo Asesor Presidencial and critiques published in outlets like El Mercurio, La Tercera, The Clinic, La Nación (Chile), and think tanks including Fundación Sol and Libertad y Desarrollo.

Administration and Funding

Administration involves coordination among Ministry of Social Development (Chile), National Statistics Institute (Chile), regional governments such as Gobierno Regional de Valparaíso, Gobierno Regional del Biobío, and international funders including World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, European Commission, USAID, as well as research grants from Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, CONICYT, ANID, and collaborations with universities including Universidad de Chile and Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

Category:Surveys of Chile