SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Hahn, Jinyong; Hirano, Keisuke; Karlan, Dean S..

Many social experiments are run in multiple waves, or are replications of earlier social experiments. In principle, the sampling design can be modified in later stages or replications to allow for more efficient estimation of causal effects. We consider the design of a two-stage experiment for estimating an average treatment effect, when covariate information is available for experimental subjects. We use data from the first stage to choose a conditional treatment assignment rule for units in the second stage of the experiment. This amounts to choosing the propensity score, the conditional probability of treatment given covariates. We propose to select the propensity score to minimize the asymptotic variance bound for estimating the average treatment...

Analyzing pork purchases at the point of sale – The role of consumer involvement

Palavras-chave: Experimental design; Propensity score; Efficiency bound; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; C1; C14; C9; C93; C13.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/47107

Grebitus, Carola; Colson, Gregory; Menapace, Luisa.

Involvement is an important psychological construct for understanding consumers’ underlying purchase decision process and those factors that shape product perceptions. In order to better understand consumer purchase behavior for low and high priced pork cuts, a series of field interviews at a variety of food retailers were conducted with actual pork shoppers using the New Involvement Profile (NIP) developed by Jain and Srinivasan (1990). In addition to responses to a series of questions designed to assess consumers’ involvement when purchasing pork, informational elements including socio-demographic information and pork attributes (e.g., origin, advertisement, on sale) were also included in the analysis. Key results from the study show individuals with...

Are Consumers in Developing Countries Willing-to-Pay More for Micronutrient-Dense Biofortified Foods? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Uganda

Palavras-chave: Pork; Purchase behavior; Consumer involvement; Point of sale; Agribusiness; Consumer/Household Economics; Marketing; C93; D12; Q13.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103401

Chowdhury, Shyamal K.; Meenakshi, J.V.; Tomlins, Keith; Owori, Constance.

Vitamin A deficiency is a major health problem in Africa and in many other developing countries. Biofortified staple crops that are high in pro vitamins A and adapted to local growing environment have the potential to reduce the prevalence of vitamin A deficiency. One such example is the orange-fleshed sweetpotato. However because of its distinctive orange color, which is in contrast to the white varieties that are typically consumed in Africa, it is important to assess whether consumers will accept it. It is this question that this paper attempts to address, using a choice experiment with the real product to quantify the magnitude of the premium or discount in consumers’ willingness to pay that may be associated with it. In addition, it also considers...

Buying Time: Real and Hypothetical Offers

Palavras-chave: Cheap talk; Field experiments; Hypothetical bias; Conjoint analysis; Universal logit; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy; C35; C93; D 83; Q18.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/49945

Smith, V. Kerry; Mansfield, Carol.

This paper provides the results of a field test of contingent valuation estimates within a willingness to accept framework. Using dichotomous choice questions in telephone mail-telephone interviews, we compare responses to real and hypothetical offers to survey respondents for the opportunity to spend time in a second set of interviews on an undisclosed topic. Five hundred and forty people were randomly split between the real and hypothetical treatments. Our findings indicate no significant differences between people's choices with real and hypothetical offers. Choice models indicate the size of the offer and income were significant determinants of respondents' decisions, and these models were not significantly different between real and hypothetical offers.

Can Co-Management Improve the Governance of A Common- Pool Resource? Lessons From A Framed Field Experiment in A Marine Protected Area in the Colombian Caribbean

Palavras-chave: Contingent value; Real and hypothetical offer; Willingness to accept; Experiment; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; C93; D12; Q2.

Ano: 1996

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/10719

Moreno-Sanchez, Rocio del Pilar; Maldonado, Jorge Higinio.

Complexities associated with the management of common pool resources (CPR) threaten governance at some marine protected areas (MPA). In this paper, using economic experimental games (EEG), we investigate the effects of both external regulation and the complementarities between internal regulation and non-coercive authority intervention—what we call co-management—on fishermen’s extraction decisions. We perform EEG with fishermen inhabiting the influence zone of an MPA in the Colombian Caribbean. The results show that co- management exhibits the best results, both in terms of resource sustainability and reduction in extraction, highlighting the importance of strategies that recognize communities as key actors in the decision-making process for the...

Can Information Costs Affect Consumer Choice?—Nutritional Labels in a Supermarket Experiment—

Palavras-chave: Common-pool resources; Governance; Co-management; Experimental economic games; Fisheries; Latin America.; Environmental Economics and Policy; C93; C72; D02; D70; Q01; Q22; Q28; C23; C25.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/60731

Kiesel, Kristin; Villas-Boas, Sofia Berto.

This paper investigates whether information costs under currently regulated nutritional labeling prevent consumers from making healthier food choices. We implement five nutritional shelf label treatments in a market-level experiment. These labels reduce information costs by highlighting and summarizing information available on the Nutritional Facts Panel. Following a difference-in-differences and synthetic control method approach, we analyze weekly store-level scanner data for microwave popcorn purchases from treatment and control stores. Our results suggest that consumer purchases are affected by information costs. Implemented low calorie and no trans fat labels increase sales. In contrast, implemented low fat labels decrease sales, suggesting that...

Choosing a Cigarette Brand: Determining the Value of Countermarketing Information to Smokers Using Field Auctions

Palavras-chave: Nutritional labeling; Information cost; Scanner data; Market-level experiment; Difference-in-differences; Synthetic control method; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy; C93; D01; D18; D83; L51.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/116433

Rousu, Matthew C.; Nonnemaker, James; Farrelly, Matthew.

Information about cigarettes can help smokers come to an informed decision about what cigarettes to purchase. Countermarketing information can help smokers make informed decisions, but little is known about the value of this information to smokers. In this article, we use data from experimental auctions to estimate the value of countermarketing information that counters industry claims about reduced-risk cigarettes. We find that this information has significant value to smokers who have been exposed to marketing information from tobacco companies touting reduced-risk cigarettes, but we find no evidence it provides value to smokers not exposed to this marketing information.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Experimental auctions; Field experiments; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; C93; M31.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/117944

Comparing the Effectiveness of Regulation and Pro-Social Emotions to Enhance Cooperation: Experimental Evidence from Fishing Communities in Colombia

Lopez, Maria Claudia; Murphy, James J.; Spraggon, John M.; Stranlund, John K..

This paper presents the results from a series of framed field experiments conducted in fishing communities off the Caribbean coast of Colombia. The goal is to investigate the relative effectiveness of exogenous regulatory pressure and pro-social emotions in promoting cooperative behavior in a public goods context. The random public revelation of an individual’s contribution and its consequences for the rest of the group leads to significantly higher public good contributions and social welfare than regulatory pressure, even under regulations that are designed to motivate fully efficient contributions.

Contract farming and smallholder incentives to produce high quality: experimental evidence from the Vietnamese dairy sector

Palavras-chave: Public goods; Field experiments; Pro-social emotions; Social dilemma; Regulation; Enforcement.; Environmental Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; C93; H41; Q20; Q28.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/53126

Saenger, Christoph; Qaim, Matin; Torero, Maximo; Viceisza, Angelino.

In emerging markets for high-value food products in developing countries, processing companies search for efficient ways to source raw material of consistent quality. One widely embraced approach is contract farming. But relatively little is known about the appropriate design of contracts, especially in a small farm context. We use the example of the Vietnamese dairy sector to analyze the effectiveness of existing contracts between a processor and smallholder farmers in terms of incentivizing the production of high quality milk. A framed field experiment is conducted to evaluate the impact of two incentive instruments, a price penalty for low quality and a bonus for consistent high quality milk, on farmers’ investment in quality-improving inputs....

Tipo: Working Paper

Palavras-chave: Agribusiness; Community/rural/urban development; Institutional and behavioral economics; Demand and price analysis; Agribusiness; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Demand and Price Analysis; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; C93; D22; L14; O13; Q12; Q13.

Ano: 2012

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/122614

Do Natural Disasters Affect Trust/Trustworthiness? Evidence from the 2010 Chilean Earthquake

Fleming, David A.; Chong, Alberto E.; Bejarano, Hernan D..

A series of trust games were conducted in Chile to analyze whether the past 2010 earthquake affected trust and trustworthiness in rural communities. Results show that trust levels are invariant between villages affected by the earthquake and villages not affected by this shock (control group). However, we find statistical evidence that trustworthiness has diminished in areas affected by the earthquake. Results are relevant for policy regarding aid and recovery of communities affected by these types of disasters.

Documentation of a multi-topic questionnaire-based survey on sustainable resource use in rural China

Palavras-chave: Trust games; Natural disasters; Trustworthiness; Community/Rural/Urban Development; International Development; C93; O13.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/104522

Jia, Xiangping; Buchenrieder, Gertrud.

This Discussion Paper documents a survey conducted in rural China in 2005. A multi-topic survey funded by the Sino-German international Training Program "Sustainable Resource Use in North China", the project covers farm management, land property rights and rural credit access on the North China Plain. From a credit standpoint, this paper covers questionnaire design, sample, survey implementation, data entry, a brief assessment of the overall experience, as well as lessons drawn.

Does Government Regulation Complement Existing Community Efforts to Support Cooperation? Evidence from Field Experiments in Colombia

Palavras-chave: Questionnaire; Survey; Credit access; Household model; Categorical variables; Stata.; Agribusiness; Farm Management; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; International Development; Land Economics/Use; Productivity Analysis; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; C81; C93; D19.

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/90856

Lopez, Maria Claudia; Murphy, James J.; Spraggon, John M.; Stranlund, John K..

In this paper we describe a field experiment conducted among mollusk harvesters in a community on the Pacific Coast of Columbia. The experiment is based on a standard linear public good and consists of two stages. In the first stage we compare the ability of monetary and nonmonetary sanctions among community members to increase contributions to the public good. In the second stage we add a government regulation with either a high or low sanction for noncompliance to community enforcement efforts. The results for the first stage are consistent with other comparisons of monetary and nonmonetary sanctions within groups; both led to higher contributions. The results from the second stage reveal that government regulations always complemented community...

Does Limited Access at School Result in Compensation at Home? The Effect of Soft Drink Bans in Schools on Purchase Patterns Outside of Schools

Palavras-chave: Field experiments; Public goods; Government regulation; Community enforcement; Environmental Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Public Economics; C93; H41; Q2.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/42128

Huang, Rui; Kristin, Kiesel.

This paper investigates the effects of banning soft drinks in schools on purchases outside of school. We utilize unique household-level and store-level data sources in combination with time-series and cross-sectional variation of state-level regulations in a difference-in-differences (DD) approach. We detect a decrease in the overall trend in sales, but observe this downward trend in households with and without children, as well as in states with and without regulation. Controlling for advertising allows us to further reject that leading brands intensify their advertising efforts and target children to potentially offset their reduced presence at schools. Finally, we find no evidence of substitution effects among possible beverage product alternatives. Our...

Does Scarcity Exacerbate the Tragedy of the Commons? Evidence from Fishers’ Experimental Responses

Palavras-chave: Soft drink bans; Soft drink consumption; Scanner data; Schools; Regulation; Difference-in-differences; Agricultural and Food Policy; Consumer/Household Economics; Demand and Price Analysis; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Food Security and Poverty; Health Economics and Policy; D12; D18; L51; C93.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/116417

Maldonado, Jorge Higinio; Moreno-Sanchez, Rocio del Pilar.

Economic Experimental Games (EEGs), focused to analyze dilemmas associated with the use of common pool resources, have shown that individuals make extraction decisions that deviate from the suboptimal Nash equilibrium. However, few studies have analyzed whether these deviations towards the social optimum are affected as the stock of resource changes. Performing EEG with local fishermen, we test the hypothesis that the behavior of participants differs under a situation of abundance versus one of scarcity. Our findings show that under a situation of scarcity, players over-extract a given resource, and thus make decisions above the Nash equilibrium; in doing so, they obtain less profit, mine the others-regarding interest, and exacerbate the tragedy of the...

Ecosystem Services Beyond Valuation, Regulation and Philanthropy: Integrating Consumer Values into the Economy

Palavras-chave: Tragedy of the commons intensified; Economic experimental games; Resource abundance; Resource scarcity; Dynamic effects; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Environmental Economics and Policy; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Land Economics/Use; Public Economics; D01; D02; D03; O13; O54; Q01; Q22; C93; C72; C73; C23.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/91170

Swallow, Stephen K.; Smith, Elizabeth C.; Uchida, Emi; Anderson, Christopher M..

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Environmental Markets; Ecosystem Service Markets; Payment For Ecosystem Services; Incentives; Nature's Services; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q20; Q57; C93; H41.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/94656

Eliciting Risk Preferences: A Field Experiment on a Sample of French Farmers

Bougherara, Douadia; Gassmann, Xavier; Piet, Laurent.

We designed a field experiment involving real payments to elicit farmers’ risk preferences. Farmers are a very interesting sample to study since risk has always played an important role in agricultural producers’ decisions. Besides, European farmers may face more risky situations in the future. In this context, it is very important for any economic analysis focusing on agriculture to correctly assess farmers’ behaviour in the face of different sources of risk. We test for two descriptions of farmers’ behaviour: expected utility and cumulative prospect theory. We use two elicitation methods based on the procedures of Holt and Laury (2002) and Tanaka et al. (2010) on a sample of 30 French farmers. The experiment consists in asking subjects to make series of...

Estimating the Impact of Food and Drug Administration Regulation of Cigarette Package Warning Labels and the Potential Added Impact of Plain Packaging: Evidence From Experimental Auctions Among Adult Smokers

Palavras-chave: Risk Attitudes; Field Experiment; Farming; Risk and Uncertainty; C93; D81; Q10.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/114266

Thrasher, James F.; Rousu, Matthew C.; Hammond, David; Navarro, Ashley; Corrigan, Jay R..

Objective: To estimate differences in demand for cigarette packages with different packaging and health warning label formats. Methods: Adult smokers (n=404) in four states participated in experimental auctions. Participants bid on two of four experimental conditions, each involving a different health warning label format but with the same warning message: 1. text on 50% of pack side; 2. text on 50% of the pack front and back; 3. text with a graphic picture on 50% of the pack front and back; and 4. same as previous format, but without brand imagery. Results: Mean bids decreased across conditions (1. $3.52; 2. $3.43; 3. $3.11; 4. $2.93). Bivariate and multivariate random effects models indicated that there was no statistically significant difference...

Formando microempresarias: impacto de la capacitación empresarial en las instituciones de microfinanzas y sus socias

Palavras-chave: Experimental auctions; Cigarette labels; Grotesque images; Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety; Health Economics and Policy; C93.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103169

Karlan, Dean S.; Valdivia, Martin.

Los debates académicos y de políticas acerca de la actividad microempresarial se centran frecuentemente en las restricciones crediticias, asumiendo que los negocios se manejan de manera óptima dadas esas y otras restricciones. Los microempresarios, sin embargo, raramente tienen capacitación formal en gestión empresarial. Por su parte, un número creciente de instituciones de microfinanzas (IMF), en el Perú y el mundo, procura construir el capital humano de estos microempresarios para mejorar sus niveles de vida, contribuyendo a su misión de reducir la pobreza. Con ayuda de un diseño experimental, en este estudio medimos el impacto marginal de agregar un componente de capacitación en gestión empresarial a un programa de servicios financieros que atiende a...

Group versus Individual Liability: Long Term Evidence from Philippine Microcredit Lending Groups

Palavras-chave: Microempresarios; Microfinanzas; Pequeñas empresas; Mujeres; Capacitacion; Small enterprises; Training; Women; Peru; Financial Economics; C93; D12; D13; D21; I21; J24; O12.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/91358

Gine, Xavier; Karlan, Dean S..

Group liability in microcredit purports to improve repayment rates through peer screening, monitoring, and enforcement. However, it may create excessive pressure, and discourage reliable clients from borrowing. Two randomized trials tested the overall effect, as well as specific mechanisms. The first removed group liability from pre-existing groups and the second randomly assigned villages to either group or individual liability loans. In both, groups still held weekly meetings. We find no increase in default and larger groups after three years in pre-existing areas, and no change in default but fewer groups created after two years in the expansion areas.

Group versus Individual Liability: Long Term Evidence from Philippine Microcredit Lending Groups

Palavras-chave: Microfinance; Group lending; Group liability; Joint liability; Social capital; Microenterprises; Informal economies; Access to finance; Consumer/Household Economics; Financial Economics; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; International Development; C93; D71; D82; D91; G21; O12; O16; O17.

Ano: 2009

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/50951