<mark>surveys. For instance, the Niger, Tanzania and Uganda LSMS‐ISA surveys include questions about paid annual leave, paid sick leave and pensions, but use different wording.</mark><sup>26</sup> <mark>Other LSMS(‐ISA) surveys, instead, have just one question either for capturing pension contributions (i.e. Malawi) or for recording social security insurance (i.e. Mali and Guatemala). Furthermore, the question on the type of contract is always included but worded differently across surveys.</mark> For instance, the 2015/16 Nigeria LSMS‐ISA asks ‘ _Do you have a written contract, agreement or letter of appointment for this job?’_ , while the 2014/15 Tanzania LSMS‐ISA survey includes the question _‘Have you a contract?’._ <mark>In contrast to LSMS‐ISA surveys, questions on informal jobs in LFS vary less across countries. The majority uses the following three questions:</mark> _<mark>‘Are you employed on the basis of: 1. A written contract?; 2. A verbal agreement?’</mark>_<sup>27</sup> <mark>,</mark> _<mark>‘Are you entitled to any paid leave?’</mark>_ <mark>, and</mark> _<mark>‘Are you entitled to medical aid benefits from your employer?’</mark>_ <mark>. However, there are some exceptions. Nepal and Nicaragua include a single question (</mark> _<mark>‘Is [name] receiving any pay (in cash or kind) or other returns from a job or business while not at work?’</mark>_ <mark>), while Guatemala includes several questions on the type of contract (‘</mark> _<mark>Do you have a contract? Is this contract for temporary employment or permanent?’</mark>_ <mark>) and the insurance scheme (</mark> _<mark>‘Do you have a medical insurance? If yes, who pays for it?’</mark>_ <mark>). Finally, the 2013 Malawi LFS includes a detailed list of more than 10 questions to capture informal jobs.</mark>

# 4.7. Retrospective questions

Labor market dynamics are a central topic in labor economics and of interest to policy makers. Labor market phenomena such as school to work transitions, transitions from unemployment or inactivity to employment, the impact of policy changes on the distribution of workers across sectors or rapid transformation in labor markets are dynamic in nature. Analyzing these dynamic processes requires repeated cross‐sectional data or panel data. DHS and most LSMS surveys do not include a panel component and are implemented every three to ten years or on an ad‐hoc basis, whereas most LSMS‐ISA surveys include a (rotating) panel and are implemented every two to three years. The frequency of LFS is country specific. A growing number of countries are introducing sample rotation in LFS (ILO, 2013b).

An alternative to repeated cross‐sectional or panel data are retrospective questions. Respondents are asked to report their previous employment status by, for instance, listing all their jobs in the last five to ten years. Retrospective questions have two advantages. First, information can be collected from periods during which no surveys were implemented. Studying certain changes in the labor market (i.e. the impact of international trade, job polarization, ...) requires longer time horizons which even repeated cross‐sectional surveys, like LSMS, do not offer. Second, retrospective data tend to contain fewer spurious changes over time than panel data. Measurement error frequently induces spurious changes in panel

> 26 For instance, the Tanzania LSMS‐ISA includes _‘Does this job offer paternity/maternity leave?’_ , _‘Does this job offer health insurance?’_ , and _‘Does this job withhold taxes from your wages?’._ Uganda’s LSMS‐ISA survey uses ‘ _Is [name] entitled to any paid leave from this employer?’_ , _‘Is [name] entitled to medical benefits from this employer?’_ , and _‘Does this employer contribute to any pension/ retirement fund (e.g. NSSF) for [name]?’_

> 27 Niger and Mali disentangle the first response option into ‘written temporal contract’ and ‘written permanent contract’.

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