Social Capital and Institutions in Rural Kenya: Is Machakos Unique?
EfD DP 08-01 | March 2008
Wilfred Nyangena and Thomas Sterner |
The revitalization of Machakos, Kenya, from overpopulation and resource degradation - seemingly by its population growth - has added another round to the Boserupian vs. Malthusian debate, and may make Machakos unique. This study investigated Machakos' improvement by looking at the role of social capital with principal component analysis and found significant differences between Machakos and two other Kenyan regions, particularly in the formation of associations.
|
|
Does Context Matter More for Hypothetical Than for Actual Contributions?: Evidence from a Natural Field Experiment
EfD DP 08-02 | March 2008
Francisco Alpizar, Fredrik Carlsson, and Olof Johansson-Stenman
|
Just how important social context is for voluntary contributions is investigated in a natural field experiment, where subjects made either actual or hypothetical contributions to a national park in Costa Rica. This study found that both anonymity and information about others' donations influenced contributions, implying that validity testing of stated preference methods needs to include comparisons of hypothetical and actual behavior for given social contexts.
|
Anonymity, Reciprocity, and Conformity: Evidence from Voluntary Contributions to a National Park in Costa Rica
EfD DP 08-03 | March 2008
Francisco Alpizar, Fredrik Carlsson, and Olof Johansson-Stenman |
In a natural field experiment, the authors quantified the importance of anonymity, reciprocity, and conformity through the provision of social reference levels in order to explain voluntary contributions. In the study setting, the effects of the various treatments were small, suggesting that the self-image as an honorable person, irrespective of other people's opinions, could be an important explanation of contribution behavior. The experiment overall showed no clear evidence that current practice by charitable organizations is inefficient.
|
Market Imperfections and Farm Technology Adoption Decisions A Case Study from the Highlands of Ethiopia
EfD DP 08-04 | March 2008
Mahmud Yesuf and Gunnar Köhlin |
This examination of the impacts of market and institutional imperfections on technology adoption found that Ethiopian farmers' decisions to adopt fertilizer significantly and negatively depended on whether they also adopted soil conservation, but not vice versa. Market imperfections were significant factors in explaining variations in decisions to adopt farm technology, such that relieving market imperfections could increase adoption of farm technologies.
|
Lake Victoria Fish Stocks and Effects of Water Hyacinths on the Catchability of Fish
EfD DP 08-05 | March 2008
Eseza Kateregga and Thomas Sterner |
This study of the deleterious effect on fishing by the water hyacinth invasion of Lake Victoria found an unusual positive: the decline of fish catchability caused by the the abundance of water hyacinths has paradoxically stopped or at least postponed serious overfishing.
|
Do Discount Rates Change over Time?: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia
EfD DP 08-06 | March 2008
Heather Klemick and Mahmud Yesuf |
This artefactual experiment in Ethiopia tested the hyperbolic discounting hypothesis by comparing time discounting over cash and consumption goods, using real payoffs. It found no difference in elicited time preferences between cash and consumption goods (tradable or final), which could be the result of missing markets in rural Ethiopia, and there was some evidence of time-inconsistent preferences.
|
The Role of Soil Conservation on Mean Crop Yield and Variance of Yield: Evidence from the Ethiopian Highlands
EfD DP 08-08 | March 2008
Menale Kassie, John Pender, Mahmud Yesuf, Gunnar Köhlin, and Elias Mulugeta |
Stone bunds in the Ethiopian highlands showed statistically significant and positive impact on yield in low-rainfall areas, but not in high-rainfall areas, and they did not have a statistically significant impact on production risk in either area. Stone bund performance varied by agro-ecology type, which implies the need for appropriate technologies that enhance productivity and are better adapted to local conditions.
|
|
Economics of Soil Conservation Adoption in High-Rainfall Areas of the Ethiopian Highlands
EfD DP 08-09 | March 2008
Menale Kassie, Stein Holden, Gunnar Köhlin, and Randy Bluffstone
|
Measuring and analyzing the impact of of trench terraces, called fanya juu bunds, on the value of crop production in Ethiopian highlands with high rainfall had the surprising conclusion that this technology reduced soil erosion and off-site effects at the expense of lower value of crop production and, hence, poor Ethiopian farmers.
|
Economic Growth and the Natural Environment The Example of China and Its Forests since 1978
EfD 08-11 | April 2008
William F. Hyde, Jiegen Wei, and Jintao Xu
China's rapid growth and forest data show interesting macroeconomic and population impacts on the forest. It makes a theoretical argument for separating forests into managed and natural forests, administered by state or private agents. The paper's regressions suggest that declining rural populations accompany forest recovery and that natural forest is drawn down as incomes rise, and recovers when incomes rise. As incomes increase futher, the managed forest grows more rapidly, offseting any draw on the natural forest, with an aggregate net expansion for managed and natural forests combined. The question arises whether other forests across the globe would show these results if comparable forest data were available.
|
|
What Kinds of Firms Are More Sensitive to Public Disclosure Programs for Pollution Control?: The Case of Indonesia's PROPER Program
EfD 08-12 | March 2008
Jorge H. García, Shakeb Afsah, and Thomas Sterner
|
|
Analysis of the differences in firms' responsiveness to PROPER (Indonesia's successful public disclosure program for industrial pollution control) showed that foreign-owned firms and firms in densely populated areas were more likely to respond to public environmental ratings. Firms with bad environmental performances felt pressure to improve, but this incentive diminished after the initial abatement steps.
|
Technical Efficiency and the Role of Skipper Skill in Artisanal Lake Victoria Fisheries
EfD 08-13 | April 2008
Razack B. Lokina
This paper studies technical efficiency and skipper skill (and explores potential proxies), using Tanzanian fishery data for the two major species, Nile perch and dagaa. The relative level of efficiency is high in both fisheries, and several observable variables linked to skipper skill significantly explain the efficiency level. However, given the rapidly depleting fish stocks in Lake Victoria, increased efficiency at the aggregate level is only possible if fishing effort is limited.
|
The Role of Production Risk in Sustainable Land- Management Technology Adoption in the Ethiopian Highlands
EfD 08-15 | April 2008
Menale Kassie, Mahmud Yesuf, and Gunnar Köhlin
The empirical analysis in this paper shows that production risk plays a significant role in sustainable land-management technology adoption in the Ethiopian highlands. The adoption and intensity decreased for farmers who experienced higher variance of return and downside risk exposure (skewness), and increased for farmers who experienced higher expected return. These findings could help decisionmakers design economic instruments that can hedge against variability of return (as measured by variance) and crop failure, and increase expected return to promote sustainable land-management technologies.
|
|
Biomass Fuel Consumption and Dung Use as Manure Evidence from Rural Households in the Amhara Region of Ethiopia
EfD 08-17 | April 2008
Alemu Mekonnen and Gunnar Köhlin
Fertilizer use (including dung) in Ethiopia is low, particularly in the northern highlands, where dung is a significant source of household fuel. This study examined the determinants of (1) rural households' decision to use dung as fuel and as manure, and (2) consumption of woody biomass and dung as household fuel sources. Using dung as fuel and manure was influenced by household assets and characteristics, type of stove, and distance to towns, suggesting the important role of asset, product, and labor market imperfections. The study found indications that woody biomass and dung were complements as household fuel, suggesting the need to focus on asset-poor households to increase use of manure, more efficient stoves, and other energy sources.
|
|
|
