World Bank economists are finding new and innovative ways to collect timely poverty data. Unlike traditional household surveys that may occur every three or five years, these high-frequency data surveys are conducted quarterly or even in real time. Timely poverty data will help policymakers target programs and crisis responses more effectively. Read more
With mobile phone surveys, a call center in Africa can collect instant information about what’s happening at that moment in a family or community hundreds of kilometers away.
The World Bank teamed up with Gallup to trial a mobile phone survey in Peru. The goal is to help policy makers throughout Latin America respond effectively to events as they evolve.
Countries that conduct household surveys every three or five years could benefit from a new methodology that helps economists predict poverty levels during off years. Data can now be collected on a quarterly basis.
"We're going to have to better measure, and in a more timely way, what we do. We don't have to wait three years or five years to find out what poverty rates are doing."
Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University speaking at The World Bank, May 2012
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