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

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  • Akay, Alpaslan
  • Martinsson, Peter
  • Medhin, Haileselassie

Abstract

We investigate attitudes toward positionality among rural farmers in Northern Ethiopia using a survey experiment. On average, we find very low positional concerns both for income per se and for income from aid projects. The results support the claim that positional concerns are positively correlated with absolute level of income. The implications of our results on implementation of aid projects are discussed.

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  • Akay, Alpaslan & Martinsson, Peter & Medhin, Haileselassie, 2012. "Does Positional Concern Matter in Poor Societies? Evidence from a Survey Experiment in Rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 428-435.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:40:y:2012:i:2:p:428-435
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2011.06.004
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Africa; Ethiopia; positional concern; relative income; survey experiment;
    All these keywords.

    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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