Identification
IDNO
BTN_2012_BLSS_v01_M
Title
Living Standards Survey 2012
Subtitle
Third Round
Country
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Bhutan | BTN |
Abstract
Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) 2012 gathered data on household consumption expenditure, and thereby provided a means of assessing the level of poverty and well-being in Bhutan. It also collected data on the demographic characteristics of household members, household assets, credit and income, remittances, housing, access to public facilities and services, education, employment, health of household members, and prices of commodities. An additional module pertained to social capital and questions on happiness and selfrated poverty.
The survey was done to collect comprehensive socioeconomic information for use in updating the poverty profile of the country and monitoring poverty–related indicators, assessing the 10th Five-Year Plan and planning socioeconomic policy for the 11th Five-Year Plan, and updating weights required for the estimation of the consumer price index.
The survey was done to collect comprehensive socioeconomic information for use in updating the poverty profile of the country and monitoring poverty–related indicators, assessing the 10th Five-Year Plan and planning socioeconomic policy for the 11th Five-Year Plan, and updating weights required for the estimation of the consumer price index.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
- Household
- Individual
- Consumption expenditure item/ product
- Individual
- Consumption expenditure item/ product
Scope
Topic Classification
| Topic | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
| Education | World Bank |
| Health | World Bank |
| Labor Markets | World Bank |
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
National
Unit of Analysis
- Household
- Individual
- Consumption expenditure item/ product
- Individual
- Consumption expenditure item/ product
Universe
The survey population coverage included all households in the country except (a) diplomatic and expatriates households; (b) institutional households, i.e., residents of hotels, boarding and lodging houses, monasteries, nunneries, school hostels, orphanages, rescue homes, and under trials in jails and indoor patients of hospitals; and, (c) barracks of military and paramilitary forces, including the police.
A person not of Bhutanese nationality who has been residing in Bhutan for at least 6 months. The household of a non-Bhutanese resident who is an employee of the government or of private enterprises in Bhutan is not considered an expatriate household and is included in BLSS 2012.
A person not of Bhutanese nationality who has been residing in Bhutan for at least 6 months. The household of a non-Bhutanese resident who is an employee of the government or of private enterprises in Bhutan is not considered an expatriate household and is included in BLSS 2012.
Producers and sponsors
Authoring entity/Primary investigators
| Agency Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Statistics Bureau (NSB) | Royal Government of Bhutan |
Producers
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Asian Development Bank | Technical support |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Development Bank | ADB | Financial support |
| World Bank | WB | Financial support to conduct the urban listing which helped in updating the urban sampling frame |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
The selection of sample households for BLSS 2012 was based on two mutually exclusive sampling frames for the rural and urban areas. Household counts for the 2005 Population and Housing Census of Bhutan (PHCB 2005) at the chiwog (village) level, updated after more recent listing activities, e.g., those for the Bhutan Multiple Indicator Survey, were used in constructing the sampling frame of primary sampling units (PSUs) for rural areas. Urban block counts from PHCB 2005, which were greatly supplemented by the NSB's household listing operations in the most densely populated urban areas in December 2011-February 2012, became the basis for the sampling frame of PSUs for the urban areas.
(Refer Section 1.3 (Survey Methodology and Sampling Design) in the final report for detail sampling design information)
(Refer Section 1.3 (Survey Methodology and Sampling Design) in the final report for detail sampling design information)
Response Rate
There were nonresponses despite the best efforts of the field enumerators and supervisors. After three unproductive revisits, a household was treated as unresponsive. The response rate was 93.1% overall, 91.6% for urban areas, and 94.8% for rural areas. In Reserbu town (Trashigang, urban) and Kanaldang town (Pema Gatshel, urban), both of which were included in the original sampling frame, the response rates were zero.
A major reason for nonresponse, common in both urban and rural areas according to the field staff, was failure to establish contact with any adult member of the household even after at least three attempts. Some living quarters were locked or the survey teams encountered communication problems. In rare cases, households refused to cooperate, particularly in the urban areas. When this happened, the supervisors concerned made serious efforts to obtain participation in the survey by explaining its merits to the heads of households and assuring them that the data collected and their household status would remain confidential.
(Refer Table 1.4 in the final report, response rates by urban/rural)
A major reason for nonresponse, common in both urban and rural areas according to the field staff, was failure to establish contact with any adult member of the household even after at least three attempts. Some living quarters were locked or the survey teams encountered communication problems. In rare cases, households refused to cooperate, particularly in the urban areas. When this happened, the supervisors concerned made serious efforts to obtain participation in the survey by explaining its merits to the heads of households and assuring them that the data collected and their household status would remain confidential.
(Refer Table 1.4 in the final report, response rates by urban/rural)
Weighting
All analysis had to incorporate weights using the sample survey probabilities. The final survey weight was the product of the base weight, the adjustment made to compensate for nonresponse, and the adjustment made to compensate for noncoverage and to improve the precision of the survey. The base weight was the inverse of the selection probability. If nonresponse and noncoverage were not problems, then the final survey weight was equal to the base weight.
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection (YYYY/MM/DD)
| Start date | End date |
|---|---|
| 2012-03 | 2012-05 |
Mode of data collection
Face-to-face [f2f]
Type of Research Instrument
Three main sets of schedules were used in BLSS 2012. Two sets of schedules were used in listing households for sample selection (one urban and one rural). The third set of schedules comprised the household questionnaire with 12 sections, called “blocks,” for the collection of data on household consumption expenditure, prices, and other socioeconomic variables. Each block of the questionnaire collected detailed information on a specific subject. Some blocks were further divided into subblocks according to the nature of the topic covered.
Data Collectors
| Name | Abbreviation |
|---|---|
| National Statistics Bureau | NSB |
Data Processing
Cleaning Operations
CSPro version 3.2 software was used in designing the data entry application. Twenty temporary data coders entered the data into the computer under the close supervision of NSB programmers. Computer editing, validation, and cleaning went through several stages.
Data access
Contact
| Name | Affiliation | URI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief, Census and Survey Division | NSB | psangay@gmail.com | http://www.nsb.gov.bt |
Conditions
Public use files are accessible upon request and signing of an agreement form on the data usage.
Citation requirement
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Bhutan National Statistics Bureau. Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) 2007. Ref. BTN_2012_BLSS_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from http://www.nsb.gov.bt on [date].
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Bhutan National Statistics Bureau. Bhutan Living Standards Survey (BLSS) 2007. Ref. BTN_2012_BLSS_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from http://www.nsb.gov.bt on [date].
Disclaimer and copyrights
Disclaimer
The user of the data acknowledges that the original collector of the data, the authorized distributor of the data, and the relevant funding agency bear no responsibility for use of the data or for interpretations or inferences based upon such uses.
Contacts
Contact
| Name | Affiliation | URI | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief, Census and Survey Division | NSB | psangay@gmail.com | http://www.nsb.gov.bt |
Metadata production
Document ID
DDI_BTN_2012_BLSS_v01_M_WB
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| World Bank, Development Economics Data Group | DECDG | Documentation of the study |
Date of Production
2013-07-22
Document version
Version 01 (July 2013). The metadata in this DDI is excerpt from Bhutan Living Standards Survey 2012 Report.