With the establishment of the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) in 1980, the World Bank embarked on a path to provide better data in support of decisions made by policy makers. The study goes well beyond the data collection provided by traditional census methods (sex, age, and level of income). LSMS data are collected by household to present an accurate picture of life from urban centers to remote rural, agricultural villages. It is organized to provide in-depth information on where and how people live and to measure the impacts of poverty and natural and man-made events. The study captures an expanded range of data and presents policy makers with information on population resiliency in the face of the numerous challenges people face today. These challenges ...