Land Modules in Household Surveys: Assessing the Gaps, Charting a Way Forward TALIP KILIC Research Economist Living Standards Measurement Study Team Poverty & Inequality Group Development Research Group The World Bank World Bank Land and Poverty Conference MNG-24: How to Capitalize on the Data Revolution to Monitor Land Governance Washington, DC- March 26, 2014
Objective Provide an assessment of the current state of land modules in household survey questionnaires as part of an (on-going) review Outline the (preliminary) structure of a sourcebook on the design and implementation of ideal land modules as part of household surveys
Why Do We Care? To better understand… – Tenure security, investment, productivity/welfare linkages – Nexus between land rights & individual empowerment – Development of land markets & land allocation dynamics – Interactions between land & credit markets Household surveys only tool for understanding of causal mechanisms, impacts
Main Messages Perfect questionnaire does not exist! Large data gaps, lagging regions Large variation in basic coverage of key domains Large variation in scope & methods of data collection within key domains Large need for guidance on questionnaire design & implementation, methodological validation to ensure cross-country comparability
Guiding Principle: Focus on Parcels & Individuals Identification of parcels within households… – Residential & agricultural – Owned, leased-in & leased-out – Cultivated, forests & pastures History of land acquisition & loss requires recall of past endowments: Feasible but not systematically done! Assignment of rights to HH members, non-resident relatives Knowledge of land laws/procedures, perception of tenure security among HH members
Starting Point for the Review: LSMS-ISA Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA): Household survey program led by the LSMS ( Currently supports 8 countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda Primary objective: Build capacity in the design & implementation of nationally-representative, multi-topic, panel household surveys with a strong focus on agriculture – Individual- & plot-level data – Geo-referencing of household & plots – Tracking households & individuals – Open unit-record data, including geo-variables
Review Thus Far… 57 surveys reviewed from low & middle-income settings On-going/expanding review
On Sampling… Focus thus far on population-based sampling frames, household farms, common events Area sampling frames, large farm surveys, rare events also part of the discussion
Sample of Surveys (1) …different levels of representativeness
Sample of Surveys (2) …and different types and comparability
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions
1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
Complete gap in coverage, by content area 7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions
1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
1. Plot Characteristics & Mode of Acquisition Standard – Location (GPS) – Area (GPS) – Type of use – Date of acquisition – Mode of acquisition Expanded – Household members making use decisions – Physical demarcation – Hypothetical sales/rental value
Note: N= 56 surveys Note: 1 survey on land tenure perception was excluded as it did not include any measurement of land area Plot Area: Self-Reported vs. GPS
“Standard” criteria “Expanded” criteria Surveys that meet “expanded” criteria only meet partial “standard” criteria. There are no surveys that meet all seven criteria for “expanded”. All five of these surveys are LSMS-ISA Zero! 1. Plot Characteristics & Mode of Acquisition
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
2. Formal & Informal Rights Complete gap in topic coverage, by region Note: N= 57 surveys
2. Formal & Informal Rights Documents: spatial/contextual elements, hierarchical Willingness to pay for updated formal documents (individual-specific) Time, money spent trying to secure formal rights (individual-specific) Five rights, identification of individuals associated w/ each – Bequeath, Sell, Rent Out, Use as Collateral, Make Improvements – Within & outside household identification of individuals – Who answers matters, on-going methodological research
Messy? # of Surveys# of Surveys
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
3. Land Investments Capturing stock & flow – Labor input vs. cash/in-kind expenditures – Trees: Number of trees at point X, number of trees planted, number of trees now Residential land vs. agricultural land
3. Land Investments Standard – Any protective investments (fences, etc.) & timing – Stock of investments at a particular point in time – Any investments made in a specified time period Expanded – Flow of productive investments, differentiating between labor & cash/in-kind inputs
3. Land Investments Zero! Surveys that met some “expanded” criteria only met partial, if any, “standard” criteria.
3. Land Investments 11 surveys (19%) asked if trees had been planted in a specific time frame Of these, 6 surveys collected stock & flow information: Number of trees currently Number of trees planted
3. Land Investments
>>
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
4. Lease Market Participation Standard – Size of land leased in or out – Date for start of lease – Rental agreement (type, amount) Expanded – Landlord/tenant attributes (relationship, occupation, gender) – Formality of contract
4. Lease Market Participation Note: Information about landlord/tenant may include relationship, location, number, and/or gender. Note: N= 57 surveys Leased-out Leased-in 3 of these surveys collect information about tenant's gender 3 of these surveys collect information about landlord’s gender
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
5. Sales Market Participation Standard – Date of transfer – Reason for sale – Location of land – Size of land – Cash/land amount received in return Expanded – Purchaser/seller attributes (relationship, gender, location) – Land surveyed, sale registered (cost of formalities)
5. Sales Market Participation “Standard” criteria “Expanded” criteria Surveys that meet “expanded” criteria only meet partial “standard” criteria. There are no surveys that meet all seven criteria for “expanded”. Zero!
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
6. Perceived Tenure Security & Land Dispute History Complete gap in topic coverage, by survey type Note: N= 57 surveys
6. Perceived Tenure Security & Land Dispute History Standard – Confidence to not lose plot within X years – History of involuntary land loss – Ever concerned about dispute (type) on plot Expanded – Ever had dispute on the plot
6. Perceived Tenure Security & Land Dispute History Surveys that met some “expanded” criteria only met partial, if any, “standard” criteria.
6. Perceived Tenure Security & Land Dispute History Note: N= 57 surveys Land dispute history, detail of data collection
7 Main Content Areas for Survey Questions 1.Plot characteristics & mode of acquisition 2.Formal & informal rights 3.Land investments 4.Lease market participation 5.Sale market participation 6.Perceived tenure security, history of land disputes 7.Knowledge & perception (individual)
7. Knowledge & Perception Questions Standard – Y/N questions on key legal provisions (consent for sales, inheritance) – Procedures/institutional responsibilities (registration, first instance of appeal) – Trust in/impartiality of land administration institutions Expanded – Y/N questions on land/use provisions – Introduction of new land laws
7. Knowledge & Perception Questions Ten of these surveys disaggregate knowledge assessment by gender Five of these surveys disaggregate perception assessment by gender
Recapping Perfect questionnaire does not exist! Large data gaps, lagging regions Large variation in basic coverage of key domains Large variation in scope & methods of data collection within key domains Large need for guidance on questionnaire design & implementation, methodological validation to ensure cross-country comparability
Lighting a Candle On-going review to form a basis for a sourcebook on the design & implementation of land modules in HH surveys – Joint collaboration of DECPI-LSMS & DECAR – Target audience: National statistical agencies, survey practitioners, researchers, policymakers – Benefit insights from LSMS methodological research program on improving measures & analysis of agricultural productivity – First step in thinking about cross-country comparability Recommendations to benefit on-going LSMS survey operations, particularly as part of LSMS-ISA
Final Thoughts LSMS part of a much larger landscape, time-sensitive agenda Importance of partnerships, stakeholder coordination Revisit standard vs. expanded distinction – Consider light/standard/expanded, re-think the scope in each, propose further cuts depending on the purpose Global discussions around available & comparable data need to take into account country-level dynamics TA for design & implementation of ideal land modules needs to be hand-in-hand with TA to improve analytical capacity
Land Modules in Household Surveys: Assessing the Gaps, Charting a Way Forward TALIP KILIC Research Economist Living Standards Measurement Study Team Poverty & Inequality Group Development Research Group The World Bank World Bank Land and Poverty Conference MNG-24: How to Capitalize on the Data Revolution to Monitor Land Governance Washington, DC- March 26, 2014