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Bounded Rationality, Social Capital and Technology Adoption in Family Farming: Evidence from Cocoa-Tree Crops in Ivory Coast

Author

Listed:
  • Francesco Cordaro
  • Alain Desdoigts

    (DEVSOC - UMR Développement et Sociétés - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement)

Abstract

In this paper, we allege that the hypothesis in favor of bounded rationality is a plausible explanation when it comes to better understanding the sluggish pace of adoption of best available tree crop farming techniques in poor small-scale rural communities. Our research builds on data collection and analysis of cocoa farming in Ivory Coast. Firstly, we find that the cognitive scarcity under which smallholder farmers make their decisions, in particular, satisficing behavior and fast and frugal heuristics, outweigh the scarcity of financial and human resources. Secondly, we show that the structure of the environment measured through various dimensions of social capital influences human rationality and decision-making. On the one hand, the greater smallholder farmers' civic capital (solidarity, reciprocity, trustworthiness, cooperation), the more likely they are to modify their farming practices (p

Suggested Citation

  • Francesco Cordaro & Alain Desdoigts, 2021. "Bounded Rationality, Social Capital and Technology Adoption in Family Farming: Evidence from Cocoa-Tree Crops in Ivory Coast," Post-Print hal-04001260, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04001260
    DOI: 10.3390/su13137483
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