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| World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study | |
|---|---|
| Name | World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study |
| Founded | 1980s |
| Parent | World Bank |
| Scope | Household surveys, poverty measurement, welfare analysis |
World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study
The Living Standards Measurement Study is a major household survey initiative established to measure household welfare, consumption, health, and education across countries. It has influenced research by producing standardized instruments used by teams from institutions such as the World Bank, United Nations, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Its outputs inform policy debates in forums including the G7 Summit, United Nations General Assembly, World Health Organization, and International Labour Organization.
The program produces harmonized household survey tools that capture consumption, employment, nutrition, and demographic data used by analysts at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Oxford, and London School of Economics. National statistical offices like the United States Census Bureau, Office for National Statistics (UK), Statistics Canada, Australian Bureau of Statistics, and Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía have drawn on its approaches. Donor agencies such as the United Kingdom Department for International Development, United States Agency for International Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and European Commission have funded survey rounds. Multilateral lenders including the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, and Inter-American Development Bank have used data for project appraisal, while researchers at Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, University of California, Berkeley, and New York University analyze microdata for causal inference.
Initiated in the 1980s, the study built on preceding work by scholars at University of Chicago, the Brookings Institution, Centre for Economic Policy Research, and the International Food Policy Research Institute. Early methodological development involved collaboration with economists like Amartya Sen, Angus Deaton, Joseph Stiglitz, John Maynard Keynes (historical influence), and institutions such as the Royal Statistical Society and International Statistical Institute. Pilot rounds drew on survey experience from projects in India, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, and Mexico. Over time it evolved alongside global initiatives such as the Millennium Summit, the Millennium Development Goals, the Sustainable Development Goals, and international efforts by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data.
Survey design integrates modules on consumption, labor, education, health, and migration adapted from questionnaires used by teams at World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the International Organization for Migration. Sampling strategies reference texts from the United Nations Statistical Commission, Census and Statistics Department (Hong Kong), and methods used in the Demographic and Health Surveys and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys. Questionnaires have been compared with instruments developed at Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and Imperial College London for anthropometry and biomarker collection. Analytical techniques borrow from econometric methods popularized by scholars at London School of Economics, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Chicago.
National implementations have been conducted in partnership with ministries such as the Ministry of Finance (India), the Ministry of Health (Brazil), the Ministry of Planning and Development (Pakistan), the National Planning Commission (Nepal), and the Ministry of Economic Development (Russia). Field operations often engage organizations including Care International, OXFAM, Save the Children, World Vision International, and Mercy Corps. Country applications include poverty analysis in Ethiopia, labor market studies in China, nutrition surveys in Bangladesh, migration research in Philippines, and social protection evaluation in Ghana.
Microdata and documentation are distributed through data repositories and archives comparable to the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research, the UK Data Service, the International Household Survey Network, and national data portals like data.gov, data.gov.uk, and Datos Abiertos (Mexico). Data standards align with metadata practices advocated by the International Organization for Standardization, the Open Data Charter, and the World Wide Web Consortium. Researchers from National Bureau of Economic Research, European University Institute, Pew Research Center, Rand Corporation, and Brookings Institution routinely use the datasets for cross-country comparisons.
The study has shaped policy dialogues at the World Bank Group, International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum, G20 Summit, and in national cabinets such as those of United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Japan. Academic work citing the data has been produced at Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, MIT, and Harvard University addressing topics like poverty dynamics, inequality, and human capital. Its methods informed conditional cash transfer programs evaluated in studies linked to Bolsa Família, Oportunidades, Progresa, and social protection reforms in South Africa and Brazil.
Critiques have been raised by scholars from Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Transparency International, Center for Global Development, and critics at University of California, Los Angeles concerning survey coverage, respondent burden, and measurement error. Methodological debates involve researchers at London School of Economics, University of Warwick, University of Toronto, and University of Melbourne over recall bias, seasonal variation, and comparability across contexts. Operational challenges highlighted by practitioners at World Bank Inspection Panel, European Court of Auditors, and the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services include field logistics, sampling frames, and data quality assurance.
Category:Survey methodology