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Review of LSMS-ISA Research

EPAR RESEARCH BRIEF #332

Fri, 02/26/2016

AUTHORS: Pierre Biscaye, Margaret Beetstra, Melissa Greenaway, Jordan Clarke, Audrey Lawrence, C. Leigh Anderson, Travis Reynolds

ABSTRACT: 

Household survey data are a key source of information for policy-makers at all levels. In developing countries, household data are commonly used to target interventions and evaluate progress towards development goals. The World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study – Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) are a particularly rich source of nationally-representative panel data for six Sub-Saharan African countries: Ethiopia, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda. To help understand how these data are used, EPAR reviewed the existing literature referencing the LSMS-ISA and identified 415 publications, working papers, reports, and presentations with primary research based on LSMS-ISA data. We find that use of the LSMS-ISA has been increasing each year since the first survey waves were made available in 2009, with several universities, multilateral organizations, government offices, and research groups across the globe using the data to answer questions on agricultural productivity, farm management, poverty and welfare, nutrition, and several other topics.

TYPE OF RESEARCH: Literature Review

RESEARCH TOPIC CATEGORY: Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Livelihoods; Agricultural Productivity, Yield, & Constraints; Agricultural Inputs & Farm Management; Environment & Climate Change; Finance & Investment; Market & Value Chain Analysis; Household Well-Being & Equity; Poverty; Health; Food Security & Nutrition; Education & Training; Labor & Time Use; Risk, Preferences, & Decision-Making; Gender

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS: Sub-Saharan Africa

DATASET(S): LSMS & LSMS-ISA

Downloadable Documents

Presentation Slides

Results Coding