Varying Degrees of "Income" Indicators Guide for Agriculture

We often claim to measure “income” but we aren’t always clear about what specifically we are measuring. There are a variety of ways to measure income. In fact, most of the income measurements used are related and are built upon the same handful of components. But we often have a preference for only one approach, or don’t know the best situations for different measures. The “best” measurement depends upon the circumstances and exactly what activities are being evaluated. Understanding how they are related will help us become stronger at measuring income. It will also facilitate communications used across projects by using terms more precise than “income.”

This paper contains a brief explanation of how income can be broken into a handful of components, a table of different income-related indicators and a supporting description and discussion for each of the indicators. The table and supporting description of indicators are meant to be a reference for choosing indicators when designing projects and logical frameworks. Additionally, it is hoped that this document will help people better understand the measurement of income and create clarity when people discuss different income measures.