Reproducibility package for Closing The Gaps: The Role Of Screening Questions And Self-Reporting In Measuring Women’s And Youths’ Employment And Work
Overview
Abstract: How survey instruments are designed and who responds to them can substantially affect measured labor outcomes for women and youth. Using a randomized survey experiment in El Salvador, we test two variations to the standard labor module, each targeting a distinct source of measurement error: a List of Activities (LOA) module that changes how survey questions cue work, and an Enforced Self-Reporting (ESR) protocol that requires individuals to report for themselves rather than through proxies. The LOA module increases reported work among women, narrowing the measured gender gap in reported work by 8.2 percentage points. ESR has no average effect, but this conceals offsetting shifts: older men report less employment than proxies report on their behalf, while younger men report more, narrowing the measured employment and work gaps between young and older men by 13.9 and 12.3 percentage points, respectively. These findings underscore that measured labor gaps are sensitive to surveydesign.
Reproducibility Package
| Repository name | URI |
|---|---|
| Reproducible Research Repository (World Bank) | https://reproducibility.worldbank.org |
Reproducibility
Paper exhibits were reproduced on a computer with the following specifications:
• OS: Windows 11 Enterprise
• Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) Ultra 7 165U @ 2.60GHz
• Memory available: 20 GB
Runtime: 5 hours
To reproduce the findings in this paper, a replicator must:
- Secure Access to Data: Access the datasets not included in the package. See the Datasets section for more details.
- Place the files in the appropriate folders: Place the file according to the paths specified in
data_hash_report.csv. - Run the Package:
- Update the directory in line 15 of
master-dofile - Run the
master-dofile
- Update the directory in line 15 of
Data
All data sources are publicly available but not all are included in the reproducibility package.
Description
| Author | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Ivette Contreras | World Bank | icontreras@worldbank.org |
| Lelys Dinarte-Diaz | World Bank | ldinartediaz@worldbank.org |
| Amparo Palacios-Lopez | World Bank | apalacioslopez@worldbank.org |
| Valentina Costa | World Bank | vcosta@worldbank.org |
| Steffanny Romero | World Bank | sromeroesteban@worldbank.org |
2026-10-02
Scope and coverage
| Location | Code |
|---|---|
| El Salvador | SLV |
Disclaimer
The materials in the reproducibility packages are distributed as they were prepared by the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this event do not necessarily reflect the views of the World Bank, the Executive Directors of the World Bank, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the materials included in the reproducibility package.
Access and rights
| Name | URI |
|---|---|
| MIT License | https://opensource.org/license/mit |
| World Bank IGO Rider | https://github.com/worldbank/metadata-editor/blob/main/WB-IGO-RIDER.md |
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Ivette Contreras | World Bank | icontreras@worldbank.org |
| Reproducibility WBG | World Bank | reproducibility@worldbank.org |
Information on metadata
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproducibility WBG | DECDI | World Bank - Development Impact Department | Verification and preparation of metadata |
2026-10-02
1