Measuring Skills in Developing Countries
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Rachid Laajaj, Universidad de los Andes; Karen Macours, Paris School of Economics
Version: View help for Version V2
Name | File Type | Size | Last Modified |
---|---|---|---|
|
application/x-rar-compressed | 38.1 MB | 02/01/2021 05:38:AM |
Project Citation:
Laajaj, Rachid, and Macours, Karen. Measuring Skills in Developing Countries. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-02-01. https://doi.org/10.3886/E124141V2
Project Description
Summary:
View help for Summary
Measures of cognitive, noncognitive,
and technical skills are increasingly used to analyze the determinants of skill
formation or the role of skills in economic decisions in developing and
developed countries. Yet in most cases, these measures have only been validated
in high-income countries. This paper tests the reliability and validity of some
of the most commonly used skills measures in a rural developing context. A
survey experiment with a series of skills measurements was administered to more
than 900 farmers in western Kenya, and the same questions were asked again
after three weeks to test the reliability of the measures. To test predictive
power, the study also collected information on agricultural practices and
production during the four following seasons. The results show the cognitive
skills measures are reliable and internally consistent, while technical skills
are difficult to capture and very noisy. The evidence further suggests that
measurement error in noncognitive skills is non-classical, as correlations
between questions are driven in part by the answering patterns of the respondents
and the phrasing of the questions. Addressing both random and systematic
measurement error using common psychometric practices and repeated measures
leads to improvements and clearer predictions, but does not address all
concerns. We replicate the main parts of the analysis for farmers in Colombia,
and obtain similar results. The paper provides a cautionary tale for naïve
interpretations of skill measures. It also points to the importance of
addressing measurement challenges to establish the relationship of different
skills with economic outcomes. Based on these findings, the paper derives guidelines
for skill measurement and interpretation in similar contexts.
Funding Sources:
View help for Funding Sources
World Bank and Standing Panel for Impact Assessment (SIAC 1);
DFID-ESRC Growth Research Program (JES-1362222);
French National Research Agency (ANR) (ANR-17-EURE-0001);
INRA
Scope of Project
Subject Terms:
View help for Subject Terms
Economics;
skills;
developing country;
agriculture
Geographic Coverage:
View help for Geographic Coverage
Kenya, Siaya
Time Period(s):
View help for Time Period(s)
1/1/2012 – 12/31/2015 (Year 2012 to 2015)
Collection Date(s):
View help for Collection Date(s)
1/1/2012 – 12/31/2015 (Year 2012 to 2015)
Universe:
View help for Universe
Households in rural areas in Siaya, Western Kenya. Mix of randomly selected representativ households and households selected by the community to participate in the agronomic trials.
Households in Sucre, Colombia
Households in Sucre, Colombia
Data Type(s):
View help for Data Type(s)
survey data
Related Publications
Published Versions
Report a Problem
Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.
This material is distributed exactly as it arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.