ICT skills measurement in social surveys: Can we trust self-reports?
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ICT skills measurement in social surveys: Can we trust self‑reports? Marta Palczyńska1,2 · Maja Rynko1
© The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Self-reports are the most common way of measuring information and communications technology (ICT) skills in social surveys. Studies comparing self-reported computer skills with objective assessments have found evidence of significant overreporting of skills, but were conducted only among non-representative groups of individuals. This paper fills an important gap by analysing the degree to which ICT skills are overreported in the workingage population of Poland, and the potential causes of this behaviour. We compare answers to Eurostat questions on ICT usage with direct assessments of the corresponding tasks. The results suggest that those individuals who are most likely to possess ICT skills are also most likely to overreport having these skills. The propensity to overreport decreases with age and increases with years of education and numeracy level; women are less likely than men to overestimate their skills. The positive relationship between the probability of a group to overreport their own skills and their expected levels of skills suggests that social desirability bias may explain this phenomenon. Keywords ICT skills · Measurement of skills · Quality of indicators · Self-reports · Social desirability · Information deficits
1 Introduction Skills are an important aspect of human capital, which is, in turn, one of the main factors necessary for economic and social development. In addition to economic growth discussions, human capital and skills measures are often embedded in discussions on the economics of education, ageing, employability, crime, well-being, and health (e.g., Stroombergen et al. 2002). Skills may be analysed from different perspectives: namely, supply and demand, skills mismatch, and skills development (European Commission and Statistical Office of the European Union 2016). Economists have investigated the * Marta Palczyńska [email protected] Maja Rynko [email protected] 1
SGH Warsaw School of Economics, al. Niepodległości 162, 02‑554 Warsaw, Poland
2
Institute for Structural Research, ul. Irysowa 18c, 02‑660 Warsaw, Poland
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M. Palczyńska, M. Rynko
returns to both cognitive and non-cognitive skills with respect to labour market outcomes and social behaviour (e.g., Heckman et al. 2006). Estimates of individual or population skill levels are typically obtained using direct or indirect measures. Indirect measures of skills supply include information on the level, orientation (general or vocational), and field of educational attainment; i.e., the information that can be obtained from administrative registers or from social surveys, including the Labour Force Survey. Direct measures include self-assessments of skills (e.g., Adult Education Survey), self-reports of the ability to perform specific tasks (e.g., ICT Usage in Households and by Individuals, Skills and Jobs Survey), and objective skills assessment frameworks
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