We analyse the determinants of non-response to questions on financial items such as income and asset holdings in household surveys. Our data come from a controlled field experiment. As part of the SAVE study - a representative survey conducted in Germany in 2001 - questions on household income and financial assets were administered using different modes (personal interview versus drop-off questionnaire). The data also allow us to investigate the influence of interviewer characteristics on non-response. Our results are in line with predictions derived from models of survey response behaviour that have been developed in survey research and social psychology.
Authors
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Lothar Essig
Journal article details
- Publisher
- Blackwell Publishing
- ISSN
- Print 0143-5671 Online: 1475-5890
- JEL
- C81
- Issue
- December 2009
Suggested citation
Essig, L and Winter, J. (2009). 'Item Non-Response to Financial Questions in Household Surveys: An Experimental Study of Interviewer and Mode Effects' (2009)
More from IFS
Understand this issue
Empty defence spending promises are a shot in the dark
29 April 2024
Public investment: what you need to know
25 April 2024
The £600 billion problem awaiting the next government
25 April 2024
Policy analysis
Recent trends in and the outlook for health-related benefits
19 April 2024
4.2 million working-age people now claiming health-related benefits, could rise by 30% by the end of the decade
19 April 2024
Progression of nurses within the NHS
12 April 2024
Academic research
The employment and distributional impacts of nationwide minimum wage changes
10 April 2024
Willingness to pay for improved public education and public healthcare systems: the role of income mobility prospects
14 March 2024
Unfunded mandates and taxation
14 March 2024