An application of behavioral economics theory, in particular in relation to temptation and discount rates, and its interaction with poverty.
A paper investigating the optimal levels of fertilizer subsidies. The paper "suggests such small, time-limited discounts yield higher welfare than either laissez faire or heavy subsidies by helping present-biased farmers commit to fertilizer use without inducing those with standard preferences to substantially overuse fertilizer."
Using financial diaries, the authors illuminate savings behavior among the poor.
From the abstract: "Beginning in July 2000, a series of six field trials over three years were designed to ascertain the profitability of fertilizer on farms in Busia District, a relatively poor rural district in Western Kenya."
From the abstract: "This research investigated impulse buying as resulting from the depletion of a common
From the abstract: "This paper reports on randomized field experiments set up to investigate various reasons for the low usage of fertilizer in Western Kenya."