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Inventory Credit as a Commitment Device to Save Grain Until the Hunger Season

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Listed:
  • T Le Cotty
  • E Maître d’Hôtel
  • R Soubeyran
  • J Subervie

Abstract

In January 2013, we collected data from 653 farmers in Burkina Faso, who were asked hypothetical questions about risk aversion and time discounting. Ten months later, these farmers were offered the opportunity to participate in an inventory credit system, also called warrantage, in which they receive a loan in exchange for storing a portion of their harvest as a physical guarantee in one of the newly-built warehouses of the program. We found that a significant number of farmers chose to store grain in the warehouse without taking the maximum amount allowed for a loan in return, and that farmers who exhibit a stronger present bias were significantly more likely to participate in the warrantage system than other, otherwise similar, farmers. We interpret these results as evidence that farmers use warrantage as a means to commit to saving a portion of their crop until the lean season. These results are in line with the main predictions of our theoretical model, which explicitly takes the hyperbolic nature of farmers’ time preferences into account.

Suggested Citation

  • T Le Cotty & E Maître d’Hôtel & R Soubeyran & J Subervie, 2019. "Inventory Credit as a Commitment Device to Save Grain Until the Hunger Season," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1115-1139.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:ajagec:v:101:y:2019:i:4:p:1115-1139.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/ajae/aaz009
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    Cited by:

    1. Tristan Le Cotty & Elodie Maître d'Hôtel & Julie Subervie, 2019. "Inventory credit to enhance food security in Africa," CIRED Working Papers hal-02018715, HAL.
    2. Hartarska, Valentina M. & Zhang, Jingfang & Nadolnyak, Denis A., 2023. "Scope Economies from Rural and Urban Microfinance Services," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335439, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    3. Le Cotty, Tristan & Maître d’Hôtel, Elodie & Subervie, Julie, 2023. "Inventory credit to enhance food security in Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    4. Gross, Jeremie & Guirkinger, Catherine & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 2020. "Buy as you need: Nutrition and food storage imperfections," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    5. repec:ags:aaea22:335439 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Tabitha Nindi & Jacob Ricker‐Gilbert & Jonathan Bauchet, 2024. "Incentive mechanisms to exploit intraseasonal price arbitrage opportunities for smallholder farmers: Experimental evidence from Malawi," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(1), pages 330-353, January.
    7. Ambler, Kate & de Brauw, Alan & Herskowitz, Sylvan & Pulido, Cristhian, 2023. "Viewpoint: Finance needs of the agricultural midstream," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    8. Valentina Hartarska & Jingfang Zhang & Denis A. Nadolnyak, 2023. "Scope economies from rural and urban microfinance services," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(4), pages 1138-1167, April.
    9. Lila Cardell & Hope Michelson, 2023. "Price risk and small farmer maize storage in Sub‐Saharan Africa: New insights into a long‐standing puzzle," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 105(3), pages 737-759, May.
    10. Tristan Le Cotty & Elodie Maitre d'Hotel & Subervie Julie, 2019. "Inventory credit to enhance food security in Africa," CEE-M Working Papers hal-02018715, CEE-M, Universtiy of Montpellier, CNRS, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro.
    11. Alexia Stokes & Géraldine Bocquého & Pascal Carrère & Raphaël Conde Salazar & Marc Deconchat & Léo Garcia & Antoine Gardarin & Christian Gary & Cédric Gaucherel & Mamadou Gueye & Mickael Hedde & Franç, 2023. "Services provided by multifunctional agroecosystems : Questions, obstacles and solutions," Post-Print hal-04056486, HAL.

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