Does the Effect of Incentive Payments on Survey Response Rates Differ by Income Support History?

Juan Barón (), Robert Breunig, Deborah Cobb-Clark, Tue Gorgens () and Anastasia Sartbayeva ()
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Tue Gorgens: Australian National University
Anastasia Sartbayeva: Australian National University

No 3473, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper asks which sub-groups of the population are affected by the payment of a small cash incentive to respond to a telephone survey. We find that an incentive improves response rates primarily amongst those individuals with the longest history of income support receipt. Importantly, these individuals are least likely to respond to the survey in the absence of an incentive. The incentive thus improves both average response rates and acts to equalize response rates across different socio-economic groups, potentially reducing non-response bias. Interestingly, the main channel through which the incentive appears to increase response rates is in improving the probability of making contact with individuals in the group with heavy exposure to the income support system.

Keywords: survey response; incentive payments; income support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C89 I39 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 28 pages
Date: 2008-04
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published - published in: Journal of Official Statistics, 2009, 25(4), 483-507

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