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Processing Fees for LSMS Data Dissemination Functions |
Background:
The World Bank's Development Economics Research Group (DECRG)
supports the archiving and dissemination of data from the Living
Standard Measurement Study (LSMS) data sets. DECRG would like to
encourage further use of the data and will make it available for
a minimal charge to cover handling. This is done:
- to rationalize demand: LSMS data sets are complex
and require significant start up time to the user. We
have often been faced with requests for "all
countries all years" that we believe to be the
result of insufficient knowledge of what is actually
included in a request of this size. By charging a modest
fee for the data sets, we ensure that the potential user
has an incentive not to ask for more data than he or she
is likely to use. Documentation is readily available at
no charge, so the potential user can make a fully
informed decision as to which data are required
- to cover distribution costs: Archiving and
distributing data sets requires substantial and
increasingly scarce resources from DECRG. The charges
help to pay a fraction of the costs of distributing the
data sets (though not of archiving them).
Services:
Several services are available at no charge. These include
sending the "Guide to LSMS Surveys and Their Data
Sets," and sending copies of the Basic Information documents
and questionnaires for the countries most likely to suit a
client's needs. Services for which a fee will be incurred include
processing, packaging, and sending the actual data sets. Support
in answering further questions about the data sets is limited,
and about programming problems is not included.
When non-World Bank users wish to request data for a country which must first
grant explicit permission for the World Bank to release the data, the user is
responsible for obtaining that permission. Information on how to obtain
permission, including addresses, is provided for each survey.
We try to answer each request within two to four weeks of
receiving it. So far, the average response time has been less
than this, but is variable depending on the travel schedules and
work programs of the data managers.
Fees: The fee structure is as follows:
- Non-World Bank Users: For data sets that must be handled
individually by the data managers, the basic processing fee is US$200 per data set (defined as one year's worth
of data in one country). Graduate students who can supply
proof of their status receive a 50% discount. Users who
are nationals of Part II countries working in Part II
countries receive a 50% discount. Moreover, nationals of
Part II countries are encouraged to apply to the local
statistical institutes which usually have lower fees. For
countries with multiple years of data, when requests for
multiple years are received as a single request, a 25%
discount is given for each year after the first, (e.g.,
all four years of Peruvian data cost $650). The charges
are payable by check or money order in US dollars to The
World Bank. For data sets that are downloaded from the
Internet, no charges will be made. Our ability to post
data sets is, however, severely circumscribed by the data
access agreements with countries, and by the lack of
electronic forms of much of the important documentation
that must accompany the data sets.
- World Bank Users: The user must supply a CAM task
code. The charge for providing data sets is 1 day fixed
cost for the first data set and 1/2 day for any
additional data sets.
Revised
02/07/07
