Remote Sensing and Estimation of Household Welfare in South Sudan

Study Context

This study builds off of the previously CEGA funded project “Targeting the Ultra Poor (TUP) in South Sudan“. Through an additional grant, the research team used mobile devices for remote survey collection in order to improve the quality and statistical power of the TUP program’s randomized evaluation, while also providing valuable lessons on the potential for remote data collection as a low-cost, high-frequency research and monitoring tool.

This study enabled measurement on the returns to the TUP program in the medium-to-long term by providing evidence on the effect of universal cash transfers (UCT’s) beyond one year.

Study Design

The sample of women eligible for the TUP program were selected from a short survey of most of the 1,279 households in the general area. Eligibility was established by meeting three or more criteria deemed to be correlates of extreme poverty, including number of children, child labor, unemployment, poor housing conditions, and low educational attainment, as well as a perception in the community that they are poor. Of those eligible, 650 were selected.

Remote surveys to these households were conducted out on a quarterly basis, and included questions on earnings activities and expenditures on key goods.

Results and Policy Lessons

The researchers were able to fill in the gaps of survey respondents and collect richer data to better understand the impact of TUP vs. cash transfers programs.