Event description
Longitudinal and high-frequency surveys track the impacts of shocks on households’ vulnerability in a way that traditional and less frequent surveys cannot. And the ability to gather this information is ever more relevant in the current context of frequent crises, such as extreme weather events, health emergencies, conflict and fiscal constraints.
This seminar will feature two presentations that analyze longitudinal high-frequency phone survey data from six countries in the Africa region:
The first presentation shows that households often transition in and out of food insecurity – an aspect that traditional survey data would miss – and discusses why these transitions occur.
The second presentation focuses on the accuracy and predictive quality of households’ expectations about their financial situation and the performance of their countries’ economies, and how these relate to welfare.
The findings of this research demonstrate the effectiveness of collecting high-frequency data to gain a deeper understanding into the dynamics of food insecurity and economic expectations. In addition, the insights have implications for policies and interventions that seek to build resilience and make progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 2: Zero Hunger.
The data used in this research was collected over the past four years by the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) - the World Bank’s flagship household survey program – through one of its initiatives, the High-Frequency Phone Surveys (LSMS-HFPS).
Chair
Aparajita Goyal - Lead Economist at the World Bank Office of the Chief Economist in the Africa region.
She has previously worked in the Development Economics Research Group, Agriculture, and Poverty Global Practices.
Her work focuses on microeconomic issues of development, with a particular emphasis on poverty reduction, agriculture productivity and rural economy. She joined the Young Professionals Program in 2010.
She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Maryland, an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA in Economics from St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi, India.
Speakers
Dean Jolliffe — Research Manager at the World Bank Development Economics Research Group.
His areas of interest include applied micro-econometrics, development, transition, and public economics. His research focuses on poverty, inequality, education, household labor supply, and related measurement issues.
He received his PhD in Economics from Princeton University.
Philip Randolph Wollburg — Senior Economist at the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS).
His research interests include agriculture, poverty, and climate impacts in low-income countries. He co-leads the team’s program on Survey Methods and Tools.
Philip was a core team member of the World Development Report 2021: Data for Better Lives, and before joining the World Bank, he worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
He holds a PhD in Development Economics from Wageningen University.
Discussant
Kibrom Tafere - Economist at the Sustainability and Infrastructure team of the World Bank Development Research Group.
His research focuses on the welfare effects of environmental shocks, access to infrastructure and conflict, social safety nets, food security, agricultural productivity and human capital development.
Kibrom previously worked in the areas of environment, energy, agriculture and rural development, covering a range of middle income and developing countries, including Brazil, Ethiopia, India and Uganda.
He holds a PhD in Applied Economics from Cornell University.