Abstract

An effective policy response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic requires an enormous range of data to inform the design and response of programs. Public health measures require data on the spread of the disease, beliefs in the population, and capacity of the health system. Relief efforts depend on an understanding of hardships being faced by various segments of the population. Food policy requires measurement of agricultural production and hunger. In such a rapidly evolving pandemic, these data must be collected at a high frequency. Given the unexpected nature of the shock and urgency with which a response was required, Indian policymakers needed to formulate policies affecting India's 1.4 billion people, without the detailed evidence required to construct effective programs. To help overcome this evidence gap, the World Bank, IDinsight, and the Development Data Lab sought to produce rigorous and responsive data for policymakers across six states in India: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Geographic coverage

Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh

Analysis unit

Household

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

The samples for these surveys were drawn from surveys and impact evaluations previously conducted by the World Bank, the Ministry of Rural Development, India and IDInsight. A detailed note on the sampling frames is available for download.

Sampling deviation

Details will be made available after all rounds of data collection and analysis is complete.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaire consists of the following modules: - Module 0: Introduction - Module 1: Agriculture - Module 2: Migration - Module 3: Consumption - Module 4: Labour and Income - Module 5: Access to Relief - Module 6: Health

Response rate

~46%. The response rate does not include attempts made to invalid numbers. There were 972 such numbers in the sample. The response rate includes the 443 partially completed surveys.

Abstract

An effective policy response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic requires an enormous range of data to inform the design and response of programs. Public health measures require data on the spread of the disease, beliefs in the population, and capacity of the health system. Relief efforts depend on an understanding of hardships being faced by various segments of the population. Food policy requires measurement of agricultural production and hunger. In such a rapidly evolving pandemic, these data must be collected at a high frequency. Given the unexpected nature of the shock and urgency with which a response was required, Indian policymakers needed to formulate policies affecting India’s 1.4 billion people, without the detailed evidence required to construct effective programs. To help overcome this evidence gap, the World Bank, IDinsight, and the Development Data Lab sought to produce rigorous and responsive data for policymakers across six states in India: Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.

Geographic coverage

Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh

Analysis unit

Household

Kind of data

Sample survey data [ssd]

Sampling procedure

This dataset includes observations covering six states (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh) and three survey rounds. The survey did not have a single, unified frame from which to sample phone numbers. The final sample was assembled from several different sample frames, and the choice of frame sample frames varied across states and survey rounds.

These frames comprise four prior IDinsight projects and from an impact evaluation of the National Rural Livelihoods project conducted by the Ministry of Rural Development. Each of these surveys sought to represent distinct populations, and employed idiosyncratic sample designs and weighting schemes.

A detailed note covering key features of each sample frame is available for download.

Mode of data collection

Computer Assisted Telephone Interview [cati]

Research instrument

The survey questionnaires covered the following subjects:

1. Agriculture: COVID-19-related changes in price realisation, acreage decisions, input expenditure, access to credit, access to fertilisers, etc.

2. Income and consumption: Changes in wage rates, employment duration, consumption expenditure, prices of essential commodities, status of food security etc.

3. Migration: Rates of in-migration, migrant income and employment status, return migration plans etc.

4. Access to relief: Access to in-kind, cash and workfare relief, quantities of relief received, and constraints on the access to relief.

5. Health: Access to health facilities and rates of foregone healthcare, knowledge of COVID-19 related symptoms and protective behaviours.

While a number of indicators were consistent across all three rounds, questions were added and removed as and when necessary to account for seasonal changes (i.e: in the agricultural cycle).

Response rate

Round 1: ~55% Round 2: ~46% Round 3: ~55%