Closing the Gaps: The Role of Screening Questions and Self-Reporting in Measuring Women's and Youths’ Employment and Work

Abstract

This study examines whether alternative survey methods can mitigate the underreporting of women’s and youths’ labor market outcomes, thereby enhancing the accuracy of gender- and age-based gap measurements. By conducting a survey experiment, we compare two methods—including a list of activities survey module and enforcing self-responses—with the standard labor module used in household surveys that relies on proxy responses. Results indicate that the list of activities module increases reported work and employment and reduced the gender gaps by 8.2 percentage points. Enforced self-responses similarly decrease age gaps in male employment and work by 13.9 and 12.3 percentage points.

Keywords: labor gender gaps measurement, labor age gaps measurement, survey methods, informality