Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries.

Despite numerous journalistic accounts, systematic quantitative evidence on economic conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains scarce for most low- and middle-income countries, partly due to limitations of official economic statistics in environments with large informal sectors and subsistence agriculture. We assemble evidence from over 30,000 respondents in 16 original household surveys from nine countries in Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone), Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines), and Latin America (Colombia). We document declines in employment and income in all settings beginning March 2020. The share of households experiencing an income drop ranges from 8 to 87% (median, 68%). Household coping strategies and government assistance were insufficient to sustain precrisis living standards, resulting in widespread food insecurity and dire economic conditions even 3 months into the crisis. We discuss promising policy responses and speculate about the risk of persistent adverse effects, especially among children and other vulnerable groups.

How Accurate is Our Misinformation?: A Randomized Trial to Assess the Cost-Effectiveness of Administering Alternative Survey Modes to Youth at Risk: Dominican Republic Case Study

The study reports on a randomized trial of 1,200 young adults enrolled in an employment training program, to determine the most cost-effective and appropriate interview mode for measuring youth risk behaviors. Four different survey administration modes -two interviewer-assisted (FTFI and CATI) and two self-administered modes (SAI and ACASI)-were randomly assigned. The authors have centered the study on the question of cost-effectiveness -actual implementation costs and estimates of measurement bias- and the randomization of interviewer gender in order to assess the interaction between gender and data quality. The research shows that the target population is likely to underreport sensitive questions in self-administered surveys, and thus the degree to which a mode improves self-reporting of a particular risk behavior or set of behaviors is likely to be context specific.

A Toolkit for the Measurement of Youth Risk Behavior

A toolkit for the measurement of youth risk behavior This publication is the third in a series of monographs prepared by the Inter-American Development Bank's Social Protection and Health Division to support the measurement of youth at risk. In this context, this document has been created to support and strengthen the monitoring and evaluation processes of programs aimed at youth. With an emphasis on effective results measurement, it is structured as a user-friendly operational guide for teams of specialists who work with this population group.

Guía para medir comportamientos de riesgo en jóvenes

Este estudio es el tercero de una serie de publicaciones de la División de Protección Social y Salud del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo sobre medición de comportamientos de jóvenes en riesgo. Este documento nace como instrumento para apoyar y fortalecer el seguimiento y la evaluación de programas dirigidos a jóvenes. Con énfasis en la medición efectiva de resultados, se plantea como una guía de fácil consulta para apoyar a los especialistas que trabajan con este grupo etario.

Cómo medir comportamientos de riesgo en jóvenes: Un experimento aleatorizado sobre la costo-efectividad de modos de encuestas

Este trabajo busca contrastar la costo-efectividad de cuatro modos de administrar encuestas utilizadas para medir eficazmente los comportamientos de riesgo entre jóvenes. Se estudiaron dos modos asistidos y dos modos autoadministrados de encuestas en jóvenes entre 18 y 30 años. Los autores se concentran en dos temas: i) determinar el costo-efectividad -costos de implementación y estimación de sesgos de medición-, para seleccionar el modo de entrevista más adecuado; y ii) evaluar si la coincidencia entre el sexo del entrevistado y el sexo del encuestador afecta la calidad de los datos. El estudio muestra que los jóvenes tienden a subreportar información sobre temas sensibles cuando los cuestionarios son autoadministrados; asimismo indica el grado en que el modo de administración de cuestionarios mejora la tasa de respuesta sobre comportamientos riesgosos.