Essays on rural economic development

Thesis

This thesis seeks to broaden our knowledge on different policies to foster rural economic development. It comprises three distinct chapters that study how we can leverage digital technologies to improve smallholder farmers’ economic outcomes and the effects of a social protection programme on rural labour markets.

The first chapter studies whether, and how, providing market information to smallholder farmers can increase their revenue. I study this question leveraging a two-level cluster randomised controlled trial among 1988 cashew producers in 290 villages in Guinea-Bissau. Treated producers received free weekly messages to their mobiles during the trading seasons in 2020 and 2021. The messages provided upto-date market news, farmgate prices, and sales advice. Treated producers reported higher prices, mostly during the 2021 season. Treated producers sold their cashews more frequently relative to the other producers, who tend to sell their cashews in a single transaction. The chapter explores several mechanisms to unpack the results, finding evidence consistent with the information increasing the bargaining power of treated producers, who negotiate better deals.

The second chapter studies the effects of a large social protection programme in rural Ethiopia on local labour markets. The programme targeted food-insecure households to provide them with food or cash transfers, as compensation for public works participation or unconditionally. Using repeated cross-sections of the Ethiopian Labour Force Survey, I show that workers shifted from agricultural to non-agricultural self-employment. I also find that the programme did not change employment rates or wages in this rural economy. I find similar results complementing my analysis with data from the Ethiopian Socio-Economic Survey.

The third chapter tests whether trying to change how people living in poverty perceive their future opportunities alters their aspirations and, through that, modifies their investment decisions. In a randomised controlled trial in remote rural Ethiopia, a treatment group of households was exposed to video documentaries of people from similar communities who improved their economic conditions through their hard work, and, as such, can serve as role models. Five years after the screening took place, the treated household that watched the videos increased their future-oriented investments in agriculture and towards their children’s education. The results can be explained by an increase in aspirations in terms of lifetime goals.

Authors: Schinaia, G

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-5robzoogw
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: digital agriculture; social protection; aspirations; agricultural markets; rural labour markets; market information
• Subjects: Development economics; Experimental economics; Economics--Psychological aspects