Not Your Average Job: Measuring Farm Labor in Tanzania

40 Pages Posted: 2 Aug 2016 Last revised: 21 May 2020

See all articles by Vellore Arthi

Vellore Arthi

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics

Kathleen Beegle

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG)

Joachim De Weerdt

University of Antwerp - Institute of Development Policy and Management; KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS)

Amparo Palacios-Lopez

World Bank

Vellore Shroff Arthi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Kathleen Beegle

World Bank

Date Written: July 28, 2016

Abstract

A good understanding of the constraints on agricultural growth in Africa relies on the accurate measurement of smallholder labor. Yet, serious weaknesses in these statistics persist. The extent of bias in smallholder labor data is examined by conducting a randomized survey experiment among farming households in rural Tanzania. Agricultural labor estimates obtained through weekly surveys are compared with the results of reporting in a single end-of-season recall survey. The findings show strong evidence of recall bias: people in traditional recall-style modules report working up to four times as many hours per person-plot relative to those reporting labor on a weekly basis. If hours are aggregated to the household level, however, this discrepancy disappears, a factor driven by the underreporting by recall households of people and plots active in agricultural work. The evidence suggests that these competing forms of recall bias are driven not only by failures in memory, but also by the mental burdens of reporting on highly variable agricultural work patterns to provide a typical estimate. All things equal, studies suffering from this bias would understate agricultural labor productivity.

Keywords: Food Security, Labor & Employment Law, Livestock and Animal Husbandry

Suggested Citation

Arthi, Vellore and Beegle, Kathleen and De Weerdt, Joachim and Palacios-Lopez, Amparo and Arthi, Vellore Shroff and Beegle, Kathleen, Not Your Average Job: Measuring Farm Labor in Tanzania (July 28, 2016). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7773, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2815734

Vellore Arthi (Contact Author)

University of California, Irvine - Department of Economics ( email )

3151 Social Science Plaza
Irvine, CA 92697-5100
United States

Kathleen Beegle

World Bank - Development Research Group (DECRG) ( email )

1818 H. Street, N.W.
MSN3-311
Washington, DC 20433
United States

HOME PAGE: http://econ.worldbank.org/staff/kbeegle

Joachim De Weerdt

University of Antwerp - Institute of Development Policy and Management ( email )

City campus building S
Lange Sint Annastraat 7
Antwerp, 2000
Belgium

KU Leuven - Centre for Institutions and Economic Performance (LICOS) ( email )

Waaistraat 6 - box 3511
Leuven, 3000
Belgium

Amparo Palacios-Lopez

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Vellore Shroff Arthi

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

Kathleen Beegle

World Bank ( email )

1818 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20433
United States

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
64
Abstract Views
545
Rank
622,763
PlumX Metrics