This section will offer a description of a data source that may be of interest to economists. The purpose is to describe what data are available from that source or in that subject area, what questions can be addressed because of the unique features of the data, and how an interested reader can gain access to the data.

The World Bank established the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) in 1980 to explore ways of improving the accuracy, timeliness and policy relevance of household survey data collected by government statistical offices in developing countries. The objective of LSMS surveys is to collect data on many dimensions of household well-being that can be used to assess household welfare, understan household behavior, and evaluate the effect of various government policies on the living conditions of the population. This paper describes the data that have been collected under the LSMS survey program.