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Rocking the Boat to Change the Debate: Identifying and Testing Conventional Wisdom

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  • Thomas Reardon

Abstract

This paper presents a method for and experiences with pioneering new research directions that challenge “conventional wisdom” and change policy and research debates. The method consists of four steps: (1) identify the conventional wisdom (CW); (2) ignore the CW and go to the field without pre‐conceived notions, and look long and hard at reality—with interviews and surveys broad enough to allow oneself to make discoveries that contradict the CW; (3) then identify the contradictions between the CW and the field discoveries and pinpoint the implications for policy and research debates; (4) develop and mainstream a new research theme along a research “product cycle.” The paper summarizes my and collaborators’ application of the method with illustrations from four waves of market economics field research in Africa, Asia, and Latin America since the 1980s: (a) rural nonfarm employment; (b) processed food consumption; (c) the “hidden middle” (rapid diffusion of small and medium enterprises in the midstream of value chains); and (d) the “supermarket revolution”. The paper ends with a discussion of the benefits of this approach to policy and research debates and the researcher's own career, as well as considerations of risks, timing, and approach for application of the method. JEL Classification: D12, J20, O12, O18, Q12, Q18

Suggested Citation

  • Thomas Reardon, 2025. "Rocking the Boat to Change the Debate: Identifying and Testing Conventional Wisdom," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 56(3), pages 543-553, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:agecon:v:56:y:2025:i:3:p:543-553
    DOI: 10.1111/agec.70014
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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