Trusted Enumerator Data Collection in Vulnerable Populations
Observational StudyClinical Trial
Short-term survey data collected by unfamiliar enumerators often underreports informal employment among refugee populations due to mistrust and legal concerns, creating false-negative treatment signals in field evaluations.
Picture this
If a stranger calls asking whether you earned money under the table this week, you will likely say no out of fear. But if the social worker who helped register you for assistance calls back, you are much more likely to report your true informal work. As a result, surveys by strangers miss informal jobs, whereas follow-ups by trusted staff capture them accurately.
What the evidence says
6-week rapid surveys by unfamiliar enumerators showed near-zero employment impacts (0.6 percentage points for cash, p = 0.296; control mean 4.9%), whereas 2-month ESO surveys revealed 5.2 percentage point employment gains for Syrian refugees (p = 0.017; control mean 9.1%), with significant job increases occurring just below the formal minimum wage.
- Who was studied
- N = 3,668 jobseekers surveyed in rapid follow-up vs N = 3,593 surveyed in 2-month follow-up (Syrian refugees and Jordanians).
- How
- Comparative empirical analysis of 6-week rapid phone surveys conducted by an unfamiliar enumerator versus 2-month/4-month surveys conducted by familiar Employment Service Officers (ESOs) who completed intake interviews.
What to do
Employ familiar, trusted field staff rather than anonymous survey agents to administer follow-up evaluations when measuring informal labor market outcomes among vulnerable populations.
From the source
"ESO surveys were conducted by staff members familiar to the respondents, whereas the rapid-response surveys were conducted by someone whom the respondents had not previously met. It is thus likely that many respondents, and particularly Syrian refugees, had more trust in the ESO enumerators, and hence were more likely to discuss informal work with them."
An Adaptive Targeted Field Experiment: Job Search Assistance for Refugees in Jordan