Decent Work and Sustainable Communities: The Power of IPUMS Census - PDF document

DRAFT—DO NOT CITE Decent Work and Sustainable Communities: The Power of IPUMS Census Microdata for SDG Measurement and Disaggregation Kristen Jeffers, Rodrigo Lovaton, Sula Sarkar, Lara Cleveland, and Patricia Kelly Hall— University of Minnesota The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development proposes 17 goals and 169 targets that aim to carry on the momentum generated by the Millennium Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and targets concentrate on the eradication of poverty, hunger and inequality; access to education and healthcare; gender equality; environmental sustainability; economic, social, and technological progress, and the establishment of new partnerships (Sustainable Development Solutions Network, 2015). The proposed framework for monitoring the SDGs emphasizes the need for disaggregated indicators that measure progress among different demographic and social groups at various levels of sub-national geography. The Sustainable Development Solutions Network recommends spatial disaggregation and stratification by sex, gender, age, income, disability, ethnicity, indigenous status, economic activity, and migrant status for nearly half of the proposed monitoring indicators. While enhanced data collection will almost certainly be necessary to monitor several SDGs, high-density census microdata samples, like those disseminated by IPUMS-International, represent useful data that are part of the existing statistical infrastructure of most developing countries. These data are highly representative of national populations, are collected at regular intervals, and include measures of the population characteristics required for SDG indicator disaggregation. The UN Commission on Population and Development is encouraging statistical offices to disseminate public-use, anonymized, geo-referenced census and survey microdata for use in SDG monitoring (2016). To make accurate comparisons across time and place, indicators must be derived with comparable input data that has been standardized across countries with varying statistical cultures and capacities . More than twenty of the 232 SDG indicators are directly measurable with census microdata included in IPUMS-International. These include indicators related to fertility, mortality, access to basic services, enrollment in education, and labor force participation and composition. For dozens of additional targets that rely on “big data” and other non-traditional data sources that are not nationally representative, census data will be required to produce population-level estimates. Likewise, census data will be required for the disaggregation of indicators derived from data sources that lack the sample sizes or stratifying variables necessary to support disaggregated estimates. While targeted household surveys often provide more detail than population censuses, they rarely produce sample sizes large enough to support the multi-dimensional 1

DRAFT—DO NOT CITE disaggregation suggested for SDG monitoring. When empirical disaggregation is not available, census data can be used to model indicator estimates for population subgroups and subnational geographic units. As of April 2017, 145 indicators lack regularly produced data (tier II) or lack established methodology (tier III) (United Nations Statistics Division, 2017). Census data may also provide proxy estimates for tier II and tier III indicators in countries where new data cannot be easily collected. In this paper, we identify SDG indicators that can be measured using data from IPUMS-International, discuss the strengths of IPUMS-International census microdata for SDG monitoring, provide specific examples of its application for indicator measurement, and describe a method for using IPUMS- International census microdata to produce disaggregated estimates for indicators derived from other data sources. To minimize resources spent on new data collection and maximize resources devoted to the implementation of policies and programs to achieve the goals and targets, national governments and SDG custodian agencies should make good use of available data. Integrated microdata from IPUMS- International represent an important resource for measurement, disaggregation, validation, and further exploration of SDG indicators. IPUMS for SDG Monitoring Census microdata disseminated by IPUMS-International offer several advantages for SDG monitoring. IPUMS-International disseminates high-precision census microdata samples from around the world, and represents the world's largest collection of publicly available census microdata. As of 2017, 301 anonymized microdata samples from 85 countries are available to researchers free of charge through the IPUMS-International online data dissemination system. Truly global in its coverage, the series includes more than 50 samples each from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Many of these nationally representative samples are unavailable elsewhere. IPUMS-International samples are individual-level subsets of full count census data. The samples are systematically drawn from the total enumerated population by IPUMS-International or by the statistical offices of the country of origin according to a variety of sample designs. Where possible, IPUMS-International provides 10 percent samples of census data by selecting every 10th household after a random start. Nearly all samples available from IPUMS- International are cluster samples: they are samples of households rather than individuals. Individuals are sampled as parts of households because many important topics, such as fertility, household composition, and nuptiality, require information about multiple individuals within the same household (Jeffers et al. 2017). 2

DRAFT—DO NOT CITE The data series includes information on a broad range of population and housing characteristics. The population questions address fertility, nuptiality, migration, disability, labour-force participation, occupational structure, education, ethnicity, and household composition (Ruggles et al. 2003; Sobek et al. 2011). Housing questions cover economic indicators (such as dwelling ownership and building material), possession of amenities (such as a car or television), and utilities (such as water source, sewage disposal, and cooking fuel). Data available from IPUMS-International can be used to calculate 28 SDG indicators as officially operationalized (see table 1). These include indicators related to fertility, mortality, access to basic services, enrollment in education, and labor force participation and composition. Table 1 : SDG Indicators measureable with data from IPUMS-International 1.4.1 Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services 1.4.2* Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, with legally recognized documentation & who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and by type of tenure. 3.1.1* Maternal mortality ratio 3.2.1* Under-five mortality rate 3.7.1 Under-five mortality rate 3.7.2* Adolescent birth rate (aged 10-14 yrs.; aged 15-19 yrs.) per 1,000 women in that age group 3.c.1* Health worker density and distribution 4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people: (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex 4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the last 12 months, by sex 4.5.1 Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated 4.6.1 Percentage of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex 4.c.1 Percentage of teachers in: a) pre-primary; b) primary; c) lower secondary; and d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (i.e. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country 5.3.1* Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions 5.a.1* (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights bearers of agricultural land, type of tenure 6.1.1* Proportion of population using safely managed drinking water services 6.2.1* Proportion of population using safely managed sanitation services, including a hand-washing facility with soap and water 6.3.1* Proportion of wastewater safely treated 7.1.1* Percentage of population with access to electricity 7.1.2* Proportion of population with primary reliance on clean fuels and technology 8.3.1 Proportion of informal employment in non-agriculture employment, by sex 3