1 Workshop on Informal Employment and Informal Sector Data Collection: Strategy, Tools and Advocacy Amman, April 2008 Phase2: Sample design, measurement objectives and questionnaire Sébastien Merceron (Insee / DIAL)

2 Contents 1.The Phase2: an entreprise survey 1.Statistical Unit : the HUEM 2.Sampling design 2.The measurement objectives 1.Informal sector characteristics 2.Informal sector performances: indicators 3.Filling the gap of national accounts Presentation of the Phase2 questionnaire 1.Questionnaire design and main chapter 2.How to fill the questionnaire? 3.Presentation of the Questionnaire of Saint Lucia

3 The statistical Unit : the HUEM. 1. The Phase2: an entreprise survey. The statistical Unit : the HUEM.

4 The statistical Unit : the HUEM HUEMsThe Phase2 is an enterprise survey focusing on Household Unincorporated Enterprises with Market output (HUEMs) identified in the first phase. We interview the operator/owner of the selected HUEM about everything regarding his business and his employees, not on his every-day life. One questionnaire for one HUEM (if the interviewee owns several separate businesses: administer several interviews). These HUEMs can be: –formal: registered by the local tax administration, size above ( workers, paying business income taxes… –or informal: not registered or with size below 5 workers. (At the analysis stage).

5 Sampling design and estimation We interview in this Phase2 only individuals who have been identified in the LFS as heads of a HUEM, regardless of the nature of the small business i.e. formal or informal. The sample design of the Phase2 directly depends on the number of HUEMs identified in the LFS (Phase1). 2 strategies: –select all: once an HUEM as been screened in the LFS, it is surveyed in phase 2. The benefits of such a strategy are to simplify both computation of estimators’ precision (interval confidence, design effect, etc.) and the field operations. –Sub sampling, if estimated number of HUEMs in some sectors is high (e.g. in Commerce activities, stratifying by the status of the operator : employer/self-account worker)

6 Sampling design and estimation Estimating the size of Phase2 sample (If agriculture is excluded) For a given size of the LFS sample ( ex: 1000 households ), one can estimate the maximum number of interviews for Phase2 by computing: –the rate of active self-employed workers in previous standard LFS ( ex: 20% of the individuals aged 15 or above are self employed workers ), –proportion of not agricultural business activities ( ex: 80% ); –the average number of individuals aged 15 years or above per household ( ex: 3 individuals ). → 1000 * 0.20 * 0.80 * 3 = 480 HUEMs max. ( but a part of them operate a corporation/company or keep their production for own final use)

7 2. The measurement objectives The characteristics of the businesses: size, premises, branch of activity, location, access to public goods, date of creation, reason of creation… The type of employment: informal jobs ? The typology of HUEMs / degree of informality (from very informal to very formal). Status and organization questions: business name, business bank account, type of records, type of registration, business income tax… The business environment: –insertion in the economic circuit: main competitors, suppliers, customers –Problems and prospects: main difficulties, main supports and solutions (micro-finance? Producers associations? ). –Corruption issues: with state agents. Informal sector characteristics: qualitative questions

8 Performance indicators : –Size of informal businesses –Value added per worker –% of informal businesses with capital, with investment –Value Added per unit of capital –Average Decomposition of value added –Value added rate –% of informal businesses which borrowed money –… Informal sector performance: quantitative questions

9 → Establish the accounts of small businesses: –Estimate the turnover by recording the sales of products and services, –Estimate the costs of inputs and raw materials for this production (intermediate consumption) –Record the other charges and taxes, not directly related to production levels. –Measure investment and capital, –Seasonality issue: draw the seasonality graph

10 Minding the gap in National Accounts: quantitative questions Informal GDP : estimation of the total Value Added of the informal HUEMs by main sectors of the economy. Macroeconomic indicators by branch of activity and milieu: Aggregated… –Turnover –Production –Value Added –Gross Benefit –Apparent Productivity (VA/L1, VA/L2, VA/K)

11 3. Presentation of the Phase2 questionnaire Questionnaire design: main chapters 0. GENERAL INFORMATION 1. ORGANIZATION AND STATUS OF THE BUSINESS 2. EMPLOYMENT 3. PRODUCTION AND SALE 4. EXPENDITURES ON RAW MATERIAL AND STOCKS 5. EQUIPMENTS, INVESTMENT AND FINANCING AND DEBT 6. BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT 7. PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS 8. Optional: BANK, MICRO FINANCE INSTITUTIONS & OTHER SUPPORT STRUCTURES 9. Optional: SOCIAL INSURANCE PROTECTION 10. Optional: RELATIONS WITH THE STATE

12 How to fill the questionnaire? 1. Questions providing a choice of itemized responses → tick the box corresponding to the interviewee’s response or encircle the answer during the interview. 2. Table made of : rows that correspond to individuals or products, columns that correspond to questions or variables → write the code of the given response (by using codes from the corresponding list supplied next to each table on the questionnaire). 3. Open-ended questions (questions without predefined responses): → write down in full letters (or numbers) the interviewees response in the space provided on the questionnaire. Strings such as names, type of activity, types of products, equipments / Figures such as quantities, prices, values, measurement units for a given product…

13 Presentation of existing questionnaires: Saint Lucia, Mongolia, Vietnam…

14 Thank you for your attention ►