@article{fdi:010077028,
  title = {{F}ear of the state in governance surveys ? {E}mpirical evidence from {A}frican countries},
  author = {{C}alvo, {T}. and {R}azafindrakoto, {M}ireille and {R}oubaud, {F}ran{\c{c}}ois},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he need to collect data on governance-related issues has been growing since the 1990s. {D}emand gained momentum in 2015 with the adoption of {SDG}16 worldwide and {A}genda 2063 in {A}frica. {A}frican countries played a key role in the adoption of {SDG}16 and are now leading the process of collecting harmonised household data on {G}overnance, {P}eace and {S}ecurity ({GPS}). {Y}et the possibility has recently been raised that sensitive survey data collected by government institutions are potentially biased due to self-censorship by respondents. {T}his paper studies the potential bias in responses to what are seen as sensitive questions, here governance issues, in surveys conducted by public organisations. {W}e compare {A}frobarometer ({AB}) survey data, collected in eight {A}frican countries by self-professed independent institutions, with first-hand harmonised {GPS} survey data collected by {N}ational {S}tatistics {O}ffices ({NSO}s). {W}e identify over 20 similarly worded questions on democracy, trust in institutions and perceived corruption. {W}e first compare responses from {AB} survey respondents based on who they believe the survey sponsor to be. {N}o systematic response bias is found between respondents who believe the government to be behind the {AB} survey and those who consider it to be conducted by an independent institution. {O}ur estimations suggest that the observed residual differences are due to a selection bias on the observables, which is mitigated by propensity score matching procedures. {T}he absence of a systematic self-censorship or attenuation bias is further evidenced by means of an experimental design, whereby responses from {GPS} surveys conducted by {NSO}s (the treatment) are compared with {AB} surveys sponsored by reportedly independent bodies. {O}ur results provide evidence, at much higher levels of precision than other existing data sources, of the capacity and legitimacy of government-related organisations to collect data on governance as a matter of national interest and sovereignty.},
  keywords = {{S}urvey sponsor effect ; {G}overnance data ; {O}fficial statistics ; {SDG}16 ; {A}frica ; {AFRIQUE}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{W}orld {D}evelopment},
  volume = {123},
  numero = {},
  pages = {104609 [35 ]},
  ISSN = {0305-750{X}},
  year = {2019},
  DOI = {10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104609},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010077028},
}