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Is Knowledge Power? Competition and Information in Agricultural Markets

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  • Tara Mitchell

    (Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity College Dublin)

Abstract

This paper investigates an important channel through which access to market information could increase the prices that producers receive from middlemen. I develop a model of trade between a farmer and a middleman, allowing for different types of middlemen, and provide an empirical test of the theory from a framed field experiment carried out in India. The model predicts a non-monotonic relationship between the benefit of information and the cost of switching to a new middleman. I find that middlemen differ in their attitudes towards fairness and the benefit of information to the farmer varies with the cost of switching.

Suggested Citation

  • Tara Mitchell, 2014. "Is Knowledge Power? Competition and Information in Agricultural Markets," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp456, IIIS.
    • Handle: RePEc:iis:dispap:iiisdp456
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Uwe Deichmann & Aparajita Goyal & Deepak Mishra, 2016. "Will digital technologies transform agriculture in developing countries?," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 21-33, November.
    3. Jeehye Kim & Parmesh Shah & Joanne Catherine Gaskell & Ashesh Prasann & Akanksha Luthra, 2020. "Scaling Up Disruptive Agricultural Technologies in Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 33961, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Development; Agriculture; Information; Middlemen;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Q13 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Markets and Marketing; Cooperatives; Agribusiness

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