Social preferences and agricultural innovation: An experimental case study from Ethiopia

Bereket Kebede, Daniel John Zizzo

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)
21 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

We run an experiment in Ethiopia where farmers can use their own money to decrease the money of others (money burning). The data support the prediction from an inequality aversion model based on absolute income differences; but there is no support for an inequality aversion model based on comparison with mean payoff of others. Experimentally measured money burning on the village level is negatively correlated to real-life agricultural innovations. This result is robust even when data from another independent survey than the current research are used. This underscores the importance of social preferences in agricultural innovations in developing countries.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)267-280
Number of pages4
JournalWorld Development
Volume67
Early online date20 Nov 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2015

Keywords

  • social preferences
  • money burning
  • agricultural innovations
  • Ethiopia

Cite this