Heterogeneous impact of cooperative membership on farmers’ welfare in Rwanda

We study the inclusiveness and effectiveness of land and marketing cooperatives in Rwanda. We use cross-sectional household survey data and apply propensity-score-matching techniques to estimate the effect of cooperative membership on household income and poverty. Unlike most impact studies, we look beyond mean income and poverty effects and evaluate impact heterogeneity. We find that cooperatives are exclusive to some extent but effective in increasing income and reducing poverty. Effects vary with farm size and distance to the market; which calls for strategies to promote cooperative formation in remote areas but not for increasing the inclusiveness of cooperatives towards land-poor households.