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Linking risk aversion, time preference and fertilizer use in Burkina Faso

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  • Le Cotty, Tristan
  • Maître d'Hôtel, Elodie
  • Soubeyran, Raphaël
  • Subervie, Julie

Abstract

This paper investigates whether Burkinabe maize farmers’ fertilizer-use decisions are correlated with their risk and time preferences. We conducted a survey and a series of hypothetical experiments on a sample of 1,500 farmers. We ?nd that more patient farmers do use more fertilizer, but it is only because they plant more maize (a fertilizer-intensive crop) rather than because they use more fertilizer per hectare of maize planted. Conversely, we ?nd no statistically signi?cant link between risk aversion and fertilizer use. We use a simple two-period model, which suggests that risk aversion may indeed have an ambiguous effect on fertilizer use.

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  • Le Cotty, Tristan & Maître d'Hôtel, Elodie & Soubeyran, Raphaël & Subervie, Julie, 2017. "Linking risk aversion, time preference and fertilizer use in Burkina Faso," Working Papers MOISA 253532, Institut National de la recherché Agronomique (INRA), UMR MOISA : Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs : CIHEAM-IAMM, CIRAD, INRA, Montpellier SupAgro, Montpellier, France.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:inramo:253532
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.253532
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    Cited by:

    1. Nicolas Gravel & Brice Magdalou & Patrick Moyes, 2017. "Hammond’s Equity Principle and the Measurement of Ordinal Inequalities," Working Papers halshs-01430838, HAL.
    2. Bougherara, Douadia & Nauges, Céline, 2018. "How laboratory experiments could help disentangle the influences of production risk and risk preferences on input decisions," TSE Working Papers 18-903, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    3. Camille Tevenart & Marielle Brunette, 2021. "Role of Farmers’ Risk and Ambiguity Preferences on Fertilization Decisions: An Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-27, August.
    4. Bonan, Jacopo & LeMay-Boucher, Philippe & Scott, Douglas, 2022. "Can hypothetical measures of time preference predict actual and incentivised behaviour? Evidence from Senegal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    5. Nauges, Céline & Bougherara, Douadia & Koussoubé, Estelle, 2021. "Fertilizer use and risk: New evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," TSE Working Papers 21-1266, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    6. Cynthia Nneka Olumba & Guy Garrod & Francisco Jose Areal, 2024. "Time Preferences, Land Tenure Security, and the Adoption of Sustainable Land Management Practices in Southeast Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Ambali, Omotuyole I. & Areal, Francisco J. & Georgantzis, Nikolaos & Oyetunde-Usman, Zainab, 2021. "Examining the Role of Spatially-Dependent Time Preference in Improved Rice Technology Adoption Decisions," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315286, International Association of Agricultural Economists.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Production Economics; Risk and Uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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