The Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI) Household Survey 2019: Kenya, Malawi, Zambia

The 2019 Local Governance Performance Index (LGPI) household survey provides data on governance at the individual- and community-levels in Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia. Questions focused on individuals’ experiences, perceptions, and satisfaction in a wide range of substantive areas, including participation (e.g., attending community meetings, voting in elections), service provision (e.g., obtaining administrative services, education, electricity, health, and water), security (e.g., dispute resolution, experience with crime), social norms (e.g., social obligations, social sanctioning), welfare (e.g., land access, clothing, food, and shelter), and demographics. These questions allow researchers to tap into governance dimensions, regarding authority, corruption, extraction, participation, and transparency, and to do so regarding state and non-state spheres of activity (e.g., centered on ethnicity, gender, geographic localities, religion, and political parties). Implemented as part of projects on urbanization and social institutions, the survey was conducted in five sampling areas: three capital cities (Lilongwe, Lusaka, and Nairobi) and the primarily rural, border area between Malawi and Zambia. Sampling was randomized and clustered, allowing for the creation of aggregate measures at the community levels.