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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Can Peers Improve Agricultural Revenue?, Tisorn Songsermsawas, Kathy Baylis, Ashwini Chhatre, Hope Michelson
Can Peers Improve Agricultural Revenue?, Tisorn Songsermsawas, Kathy Baylis, Ashwini Chhatre, Hope Michelson
Kathy Baylis
Crop revenues vary greatly among farmers and the source of that variation is not fully understood. Using a household survey from India, we estimate peer effects on cash crop revenue. Results show that 60% of farmers' revenue can be explained by peers. Peer effects in input expenditure and land allocation cannot fully explain the variation in revenue, implying peers may also associate with management, negotiation and marketing strategies. Although caste-based networks are important, their effect is substantially smaller than that of self-reported peers. Peer effects are strongest for agricultural peers and in the cultivation of a new crop.
Challenges Ahead Of Ailing Indian Agriculture, Venkatanarayana Motkuri
Challenges Ahead Of Ailing Indian Agriculture, Venkatanarayana Motkuri
Venkatanarayana Motkuri Mr.
This paper examines changes in Indian agriculture and points out challenges ahead.
Empowering Women Through Education And Influence: An Evaluation Of The Indian Mahila Samakhya Program, Eeshani Kandpal, Kathy Baylis, Mary Arends-Kuenning
Empowering Women Through Education And Influence: An Evaluation Of The Indian Mahila Samakhya Program, Eeshani Kandpal, Kathy Baylis, Mary Arends-Kuenning
Eeshani Kandpal
This paper shows that participation in a community-level female empowerment program in India significantly increases participants' physical mobility, political participation, and access to employment. The program provides support groups, literacy camps, adult education classes, and vocational training. We use truncation-corrected matching and instrumental variables on primary data to disentangle the program's mechanisms, separately considering its effect on women who work, and those who do not work but whose reservation wage is increased by participation. We also find significant spillover effects on non-participants relative to women in untreated districts.
Information, Direct Access To Farmers, And Rural Market Performance In Central India, Aparajita Goyal
Information, Direct Access To Farmers, And Rural Market Performance In Central India, Aparajita Goyal
Aparajita Goyal
This paper estimates the impact of a change in procurement strategy of a private buyer in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Beginning in October 2000, Internet kiosks and warehouses were established that provide wholesale price information and an alternative marketing channel to soy farmers in the state. Using a new market-level dataset, the estimates suggest a significant increase in soy price after the introduction of kiosks, supporting the predictions of the theoretical model. Moreover, there is a robust increase in area under soy cultivation. The results point toward an improvement in the functioning of rural agricultural markets. (JEL …