A Reduced Wealth Index for Phone Polls

Abstract

The Reduced Wealth Index (RWI) used at the Public Opinion Poll Center (POPC) of the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) - Egyptian Cabinet, is evaluated for possible change in the importance pattern of the assets used to create the wealth index between the years 2005 and 2008. The predictive power of the reduced set of assets is studied and reasons behind its inability to represent the middle class are investigated. Two approaches of choosing/selecting the reduced set are utilized to improve predictive power of the reduced set of assets. It turns out that Best Reduced Wealth Index (BRWI) is the best reduced index.