INTEGRATED HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS: AN ASSESSMENT OF U.S. METHODS AND AN INNOVATION

• Main Authors: Samphantharak, Krislert (Author), Schuh, Scott (Author), Townsend, Robert (Contributor)
• Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Economics (Contributor)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley Blackwell, 2018-03-15T18:30:26Z.
• Subjects: Article
• Online Access: Get fulltext

We present a vision for improving household financial surveys by integrating responses from questionnaires more completely with financial statements and combining them with payments data from diaries. Integrated household financial accounts-balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows-are used to assess the degree of integration in leading U.S. household surveys, focusing on inconsistencies in measures of the change in cash. Diaries of consumer payment choice can improve dynamic integration. Using payments data, we construct a statement of liquidity flows: a detailed analysis of currency, checking accounts, prepaid cards, credit cards, and other payment instruments, consistent with conventional cash flow measures and the other financial accounts. (JEL D12, D14, E41, E42)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (grant number R01 HD027638)
Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the Department for International Development (DFID) (contract reference MRG002_1255))
John Templeton Foundation (grant number 12470)
University of Chicago. Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (grant number 51935))
Thailand Research Fund
Bank of Thailand