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Does Positional Concern Matter in Poor Societies? Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Rural Ethiopia

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Author Info
Akay, Alpaslan () (IZA)
Martinsson, Peter () (University of Gothenburg)
Medhin, Haileselassie () (University of Gothenburg)

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Abstract

We investigated attitudes toward positionality among rural farmers in Northern Ethiopia, using a tailored survey experiment. On average, we found positional concerns neither in income per se nor in income from aid projects among the farmers. These results support the claim that positional concerns are positively correlated with absolute level of income of a country.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 4354.

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Length: 20 pages
Date of creation: Aug 2009
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp4354

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Related research
Keywords: Ethiopia; positional concern; relative income;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C90 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - General
D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement

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