Tanzanian households in surveys and censuses: kaya, nyumbaand familia

Transcription

1 Tanzanian households in surveys and censuses: kaya, nyumbaand familia Dr Ernestina Coast (LSE) Prof. Sara Randall (UCL) Presented at the UK Tanzania Research Network Seminar 23 rd May

2 Household surveys in developing countries Essential sources of individual-level data for policy planning in low resource settings with poor administrative systems Much more standardised Little development over time Emphasis on comparability across time and space

3 Do household definitions matter? More variables being added in household section Way of measuring wealth / poverty / access to facilities which influence health New level of analysis / explanation More use (researchers & policy makers) made of publicly available data Recognition of importance of society s basic unit as influence upon members well-being Increasing use of indicators based on household data (e.g. MDGs, asset indicators) Increasing importance of poverty mapping which uses household level data

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5 Data and Methods 1. Primary in-depth (n=52) case study interviews with Tanzanians in three settings. In-depth household interviews, informed by cognitive interviewing 1. Longido in predominantly Maasai area (n=9) 2. Urban Dar Es Salaam (n=23) 3. Southern Tanzania Rufiji (n=20) 2. Key informant interviews (n=54 individuals)

6 Language Survey instruments tend to be written in English and Swahili only Our interviews with enumerators suggest that this practice is far from ideal Many older people are unable to respond in Swahili, untrained interpreters may be used (e.g.: children), with inevitable risks to data quality.

7 Membership of the international survey community 1960s & 1970s: idiosyncratic household definitions Informed attempts to capture realities of local conditions Household was not a ubiquitous unit of enumeration UN Statistical Commission National statistical offices become part of an international community

8 Kaya: 1970s invention So when we, at NBS (in mid 1970s) when we sent and we discussed this in meeting and we said well, we now have to look for a word in Kiswahili there were suggestions more than one as usual we said well we have the National Kiswahili Council and we have the Department of Kiswahili at UDSM [University of Dar essalaam]. We shall send them the definition of the household as we know it from the UN now we shall ask them to suggest what is it the Kiswahili equivalent that would fit that UN definition, that long thing they also came up with the kaya. Kayais the arrangement that best suits that definition of the household from the UN (Senior retired Tanzanian Statistician/Demographer).

9 The 10 cell system: Two implications for household survey data Cells = kaya The way people are registered as members of kayafor the ten-cell system will influence the way they represent themselves as households to any survey interviewer, even if their social organization does not, in fact, match survey criteria.

10 Ten-cell system produces a sampling frame (for household surveys) and the work of locating households and respondents. Individuals or households that are not integrated into the local ten-cell system are likely to be omitted from the listing for survey purposes and hence from the sampling frame: - Mobile pastoralists - Fishers - Miners - Young single urban migrants - living in informal accommodation - on unfinished building sites.

11 Harmonisation & Standardisation A household is a socio-economic unit that consists of one or more persons with common living and catering arrangements. Such persons are usually not always [sic] related to each other by blood or marriage A husband with more than one wife and spends his time in more than one household is counted as a household member if he spends at least more than half of his time in that household (p. 4 1). NBS(2005) Concepts and Definitions for Official Statistics in Tanzania But in practice.. various definitions are used.

12 Definitions Usually based on some combination of Eating Shared economic arrangements Sleeping DHS: for the purpose of the TDHS a household is defined as a person or group of persons, related or unrelated who live together and share a common source of food 2002 census For the purpose of the 2002 population and housing census a "private household" was a group of persons who lived together and shared living expenses. Usually these were husband, wife, and children. Other relatives, boarders, visitors and servants were included as members of the household, if they were present in the household on census night. If one person lived and ate by himself/herself, then he/she was a one-person household even if he/she stayed in the same house with other people (these cases were more prevalent in the urban areas). Household members staying in more than one house were enumerated as one household if they ate together."

13 Definitions have to be applied R: Exactly, that was the main problem actually as far as the Lake Zone families were concerned They have their own way of beliefs No we are together, we are all eating here my sons wives cook by rotation, we eat here. You'll say well it's not the case but actually with this refined definition [DHS household definition] if your son is married he keeps his own children, he buys clothing for the children, he cares for the sickness of his family, that's the immediate family So this was the problem so some interviewers come back to me and they say But they say they are one household then I go with him and explain what we mean more than by sharing food but this one has so many responsibilities to his or her own families. I: But you in the DHS you ignored their [the respondents ] classification and used your [DHS] classification? R: Of course and sometimes this brings conflicts. Because when you go there with your listing form. They'll say our selected is this and this and this. And they say How come? This is the same house! This is my son! (Tanzanian statistical officer: supervisor in DHS)

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25 Tanzania & Arusha Region Male Female Pop: 1,288, % migratory

26 Pop: % migratory Arusha Region

27 Pop: 15, % migratory

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29 Pop: % migratory

30 Concluding thoughts Household definitions matter for Data Analyses Respondents Interviewers Interviewers apply a survey household definition even if respondents consider they are being asked to represent themselves in ways that are at best inadequate, and at worst inaccurate.

31 Want to know more? Randall, S., E. Coast & T. Leone (2011)"Cultural constructions of the concept of household in sample surveys". Population Studies65(2): Coast, E., S. Randall, V. Golaz & B. Gnoumou (2011) "Problematic polygyny: implications of changing typologies and definitions of polygamy" Presented at the Sixth African Population Conference, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 5-9th December 2011 Randall, S., E. Coast, N. Compaore& S. Wandera(2011) The power of the interviewer. Presented at the Sixth African Population Conference, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 5-9th December 2011