This study investigates risk and time preferences of small-holder cattle farmers in West Africa. We apply a discounted utility model and jointly estimate a prospect theory-based utility function and a quasi-hyperbolic discounting function using a maximum likelihood method. Results show that West...

In this paper, we compare experimentally measured individual risk attitudes and survey-based risk items for rural households in the province of Dak Lak in Southern Vietnam. In particular, we test whether the survey-based measure can be validated by a risk experiment among different ethnic...

Empirical studies advocating the temporal variability of risk attitudes suggest that adverse covariate shocks significantly alter risk attitudes over time, but there is no consensus on the direction. In this paper, we investigate whether risk aversion increases or decreases in response to...

We examine whether the experience of shocks influences individual risk attitude. We measure risk attitude via a simple survey item, compiled among more than 4,000 households in Thailand and Vietnam. The experience of adverse shocks, which is typical for poor and vulnerable households, is related...

The use of genetically engineered crop varieties has recently become one option to prevent pest damage in agriculture. The promoters of biotechnology stress the great potential for yield increase and pesticide reduction while the critics point out the potential risks for biodiversity and human...

Indigenous fruits contribute widely to rural incomes in Southern Africa but their availability is declining. A domestication program aims to increase farm-household income and conserve biodiversity through farmer-led tree planting. Planting domesticated indigenous fruit trees is an uncertain,...

Vulnerability to poverty is a major problem in the rural areas of Sub Saharan Africa. Rural Households are confronted with various covariate and idiosyncratic shocks and are often severely constrained in coping with such events. They frequently resort to food from natural resources such as...

Recent research on the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach in agriculture in developing countries has raised some doubts on the economic impacts of this concept and especially the knowledge diffusion effects from trained to non-trained farmers. Based on a study in Senegal this paper hypothesizes...

This study presents an economic valuation of health risks of pesticides among Nicaraguan vegetable farmers. A comprehensive valuation of market and non-market value components of human health is established through farmers? willingness to pay (WTP) for low toxicity pesticides. Results show, that...

Accurate poverty assessments in developing countries require efforts to collect detailed household level data. Especially in Africa, such procedures are time consuming, expensive and can be subject to numerous constraints. In this paper we discuss the procedure of the collection of data on...