Item non-response to financial questions in household surveys: An experimental study of interviewer and mode effects

Essig, Lothar; Winter, Joachim (2009): Item non-response to financial questions in household surveys: An experimental study of interviewer and mode effects. In: Fiscal Studies, Vol. 30, No. 3-4: pp. 367-390

Abstract

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.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Economics; Economics > Chairs > Chair of Empirical Economics
• Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
• Language: English