Endogenous Treatment Effect Model Research Articles

Combining Climate Smart Agriculture Practises Pays Off: Evidence on Food Security From Southern Highland Zone of Tanzania

Concerns of food insecurity and climate change are serious global challenges, Tanzania included. In response, farm households are using various climate-smart agricultural practises (CSA-practises) which are believed to play a vital role to increase agricultural productivity, increasing resilience to climate change, and reducing mitigation costs for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions while improving households' food security. Despite these benefits of CSA-practises but the usage of these practises is still voluntary and its impact on household welfare specifically food security is not well-documented in Tanzania, particularly in Mbeya and Songwe Region. Therefore, the determinants of using CSA-practises (in particular organic manure, drought-tolerant maize seeds, and irrigation) and the impact of the usage of household food security was examined. The cross-sectional study design was used to collect information from farming households in the Southern Highlands of Tanzania (Mbeya and Songwe regions). To evaluate the impact of the combination of CSA-practises on household food security the study used a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model. A counterfactual analysis was conducted to compare the impacts from different combinations of CSA-practises considered. The findings show that household, plot, and institutional characteristics have significant effects on the usage of a different combination of CSA-practises. The study also found that the highest payoff of food security is achieved when CSA-practises are used in combination rather than in isolation. The package that contains a combination of drought-tolerant maize seeds and Irrigation (Or0Dt1Ir1) gave a higher payoff than the combination of all three CSA-practises. The study suggests that based on the practises considered in this study, the usage of a combination of various practises results in better food security compared to the usage of these practises individually. This indicates that promoting a combination of CSA-practises could enhance household food security.

Digital device use and scientific literacy: an examination using Programme for International Student assessment (PISA) 2015 data

ABSTRACT This paper uses data from the OECD’s 2015 PISA and an endogenous treatment effects model to investigate the impact of different intensities of digital device use for academic purposes on science learning outcomes. When we do not differentiate the location of device use, we find that greater use can help students improve their science scores in most of the countries. When we consider school and outside-of-school use separately, we find the above positive results are driven by outside-of-school digital device use and that there are more negative results of increased device use at school.

IITA\u2019s genebank, cowpea diversity on farms, and farmers\u2019 welfare in Nigeria

BackgroundCowpea or black-eyed pea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is one of the preferred food crops in Nigeria, as expressed in land area and production. The popularity of the crop is in part related to the successful development and adoption of improved cowpea varieties. Although the genebank of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has contributed to cowpea conservation and improvement efforts by breeding programs internationally and in Nigeria, few studies have attempted to link the genebank to the management of cowpea genetic resources (CGRs) on farms. This study explores the linkage between IITA’s genebank and cowpea variety diversity on farms and other measures of farmers’ welfare in Nigeria.MethodsA multistage stratified sampling was used to select the sample households. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted to collect data from 1524 cowpea-producing households. In addition, “Helium”, a multi-platform pedigree visualization tool with phenotype display was used to gather information about improved cowpea breeding lines and their pedigrees. For data analysis, ecological indices of spatial diversity were employed, and a conditional recursive mixed-process model and a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model were developed.ResultsWe found that growing an improved variety with genebank ancestry is not significantly associated with lower spatial diversity among cowpea varieties. While they may introduce new traits through ancestry, improved varieties do not displace other cowpea varieties or landraces. We also found that genebank ancestry is positively and significantly associated with cowpea yield and farmers’ welfare.ConclusionsThese findings show additional benefits from IITA’s genebank in Nigeria and that adoption of improved varieties with genebank ancestry does not contribute to the erosion of CGRs on smallholder farms in Nigeria. Policymakers and practitioners should consider these findings when analyzing the benefits of conserving crop genetic diversity in genebanks and on farms.

Crop Switching and Farm Sustainability: Empirical Evidence from Multinomial Treatment-Effect Modeling

Crop switching has been examined in the literature addressing the production effects of irrigation or as viable strategy in the adaptation to climate change, which is closely related to agricultural resilience. Attention to the identification of the direct linkage between crop switching and farm profitability, and, thus, farm sustainability, however, has been quite limited. This study attempts to provide a significant complement to the extant research by identifying the treatment effect of crop switching on the net returns of crop growers in Taiwan. A multinomial endogenous treatment effects model with the latent-factor structure is used to take self-selection into account. The result suggests that farm households’ economic resilience is closely related to their choice of crops, which constitute the major source of farm income. Specifically, among the six cash crop categories, fruit crops and other crops are found to be most remunerating and, thus, suggests possible improvements in farm households’ economic resilience through crop switching. A further analysis of the distributional implications of crop switching through quantile regression confirms the persistent and stronger effects of crop choice on net returns when moving from the bottom to the top quartiles along the net-return distribution. This result suggests a close association of crop choices with farm income inequality among the crop farm households in Taiwan, which in turn implies possible distributional effects of crop switching.

Parental migration and non-cognitive abilities of left-behind children in rural China: Causal effects by an instrumental variable approach

BackgroundExtensive research has confirmed the disadvantages of left-behind children in the development of human capital in rural China; however, evidence is limited on non-cognitive abilities, especially in the identification of causal effects. In recent years, the role of non-cognitive abilities on children has become increasingly prominent. ObjectiveThis study identifies the causal effects of parental migration and the decline of non-cognitive of left-behind children and explores the potential mechanisms. Participants and settingThe participants were 4636 rural students in the seventh and ninth grades of 43 secondary schools from 26 counties based on the China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) in the 2013–2014 academic year. MethodWe adopt an endogenous treatment effect model with the instrumental variable (IV) to identify the causal effects by constructing a comprehensive index to measure children's non-cognitive abilities based on the Big Five Personality Model. ResultsParental migration is significantly detrimental to non-cognitive abilities of rural left-behind children. Worse, except for agreeableness, the score of rural left-behind children in the other four sub-items is significantly lower. The negative impact of parental migration is partially explained by the fewer shadow education, the reduction in parent-child interactions, and the parental education participation, especially parent-child interactions in a major position. ConclusionOur findings are consistent with previous studies and further provide evidence that parental migration is the cause of the decline of non-cognitive abilities of rural left-behind children. These results indicate that it is necessary to formulate some public policies to focus on the neglected non-cognitive abilities of left-behind children.

Effect of Youths Remittances on Rural Livelihoods in South Eastern Nigeria

This study evaluated the effect of remittances on crop productivity and household welfare in Southeastern, Nigeria. Anambra and Imo states were purposively selected for their high rate in youth migration; and 714 households were used for the study. Data was analyzed using Endogenous treatment effect model. Wealth Index Score was used as a proxy for household welfare. The results of the study showed that employment status, sex of migrant, and age of migrant, sending remittance for buying of agricultural implements as well as paying for school were the major factors that influenced sending of remittances by the youths to the originating households in the study area. Also, the average treatment effect (ATE) of remittances on household welfare was insignificant, implying that there was no significant difference between remittance and non-remittance households. However, the ATE of remittances on crop productivity was significant in the pooled states but not significant in the states. Youths should be encouraged to move into agriculture by removing the bottlenecks associated to agricultural production.

Analyzing the Influence of Wine and Beer Drinking, Smoking, and Leisure Time Screen Viewing Activity on Body Weight: A Cross-Sectional Study in Germany.

The increasing global prevalence of overweight and obesity highlights an urgent need to explore modifiable obesogenic factors. This study investigated the impact of lifestyle factors, such as beer and wine drinking, cigarette smoking, and leisure time screen viewing activities, on body weight and the development of obesity. Individual level data were selected from a random sample of 3471 German adults using a two-stage disproportionate random sampling procedure. The empirical analysis employed a two-stage equations system and combined the endogenous treatment effects model with the quantile regression technique. Our estimations showed that the decisions to smoke and consume wine and beer were positively interrelated, especially in women. Frequent beer/wine drinkers of normal weight were found to have a lower BMI in the male subsample. Quantile regression estimates indicated a significant influence of smoking on BMI in both genders, with smokers’ BMI following an upward trend, especially in the upper quantiles of the distribution. Leisure time screen activity was found to have a major impact on females’ BMI. Prolonged television viewing and regular computer gaming had a strong relationship with weight increase in overweight women, whereas internet surfing was inversely correlated with the BMI of normal weight and slightly overweight female participants. Nutrition and health policies should direct individuals toward alternative recreational activities in order to substitute screen usage and reduce sedentary time. This study also raised doubts about the general belief that smokers have a lower body weight. As unhealthy behaviors usually co-occur or cluster together, obesity prevention interventions might also contribute to a decrease in smoking.

Mobile Internet adoption and technology adoption extensity: evidence from litchi growers in southern China

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the effects of mobile Internet adoption on technology adoption extensity.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses cross-sectional data collected in 2018 from 932 smallholder litchi farmers in Guangdong Province and Guangxi Province in southern China. A Poisson regression with endogenous treatment effects (ETPR) model is applied to estimate the effects of mobile Internet adoption on technology adoption extensity.FindingsThe ETPR model results indicate that mobile Internet adoption can significantly enhance technology adoption extensity. In addition, the extensity of technology adoption is also determined by education level, training, share of litchi farming income, guidebook use and cooperative membership. Disaggregated analyses further confirm the positive impact of mobile Internet adoption on the number of capital- and labor-intensive technologies adopted.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on agricultural technology adoption. The findings highlight the need to facilitate modern agricultural technology penetration by promoting the use of mobile Internet technologies.

Impact of Rural–Urban Migration Experience on Rice Farmers’ Agricultural Machinery Expenditure: Evidence from China

In China, return migrants’ rural–urban migration experience and its impact on agricultural production have attracted increasing attention. Using the random survey data of 1122 rice farmers from the Yangtze River Basin in 2016, this study utilizes the endogenous treatment–effect model to investigate the impact of rural–urban migration experience on farmers’ agricultural machinery expenditure. The results demonstrate that return migrants with rural–urban migration experience account for 23.3% of the total sampled farmers. After addressing the endogeneity issue, rural–urban migration experience can increase rice farmers’ agricultural machinery expenditure by 500–600 yuan/ha. Meanwhile, the positive impact of rural–urban migration experience on agricultural machinery expenditure is also heterogeneous in terms of farmers’ age and rice farm size. Based on the results, this study proposes assisting return migrants’ engagement in agriculture, supporting agricultural mechanization for the aged farmers, and enhancing the coordination between agricultural mechanization and appropriately scaled agricultural operations.

Impact of multiple soil conservation practices on rice yields and chemical fertiliser use in China

PurposeThis paper analysed survey data of 715 rice-producing households in China to assess the determinants of adoption of five mutually exclusive soil conservation practices (SCPs) and their impact on rice yield and chemical fertiliser use.Design/methodology/approachThe multinomial endogenous treatment effects model was used to account for selection bias and endogeneity arising from both observed and unobserved heterogeneity.FindingsFarms that adopted SCPs as a package experienced an increase in rice yield and decrease in chemical fertiliser use. Adoption of SCPs as a package led to a 12.0% increase in yield and 15.2% decrease in chemical fertiliser use; these results have policy implications for the non-point source pollution control in the agricultural sector. In contrast, adoption of straw retention only significantly reduced yield by 4.9% and increased chemical fertiliser use by 18.1%.Originality/valueThe authors evaluate and compare multi-type of SCPs, such as straw retention, deep tillage and use of organic fertiliser, separately or in combination, and their impacts on smallholder farmers’ rice yield and chemical fertiliser usage.

Effects of the Adoption of Technology Combinations Beyond Standardized Systems on the Income of Chinese Tobacco Farmers

Using the microdata for tobacco farmer households in Chongqing, China, this article analyses the determinants of adopting additional multiple agricultural technologies and their impact on income based on implementing a standardized technology system by a tobacco company. In this paper, selection bias from the observed and unobserved heterogeneity was corrected using a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model, and the endogenous properties were eliminated. The empirical results show that the adoption of a variety of additional agricultural technologies was determined by famer’s education level, years of tobacco planting, household size, number of technical training sessions, distance from farmer’s family to the nearest tobacco technology extension station, distance from farmer’s family to the nearest township, proportion of land suitable for machine farming, proportion of leased land. Different from empirical judgment, integrated pest management and balanced fertilization are the most effective additional technology combination strategies for increasing farmers’ income instead of combining all additional comprehensive technologies. The research results suggest that Chongqing Tobacco Company should further strengthen the training of tobacco farmers and guide tobacco farmers to take appropriate pesticide and fertilizer input beyond the standardized technical system, especially for those tobacco farmers far away from the tobacco technology extension station.

The effects of multiple climate change responses on economic performance of rice farms: Evidence from the Mekong Delta of Vietnam

The most important challenge for agriculture under the impact of climate change is the need to reduce vulnerability or enhance resilience and to maintain food security and rural livelihood. A special focus on potential climate change responses at national, regional, and international levels is necessary. This study aims to examine the effects of climate change responses related to salinity intrusion and drought on the economic performance of rice farms using observational data from 352 rice farmers in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The multinomial endogenous treatment effect model was used in combination with a propensity score analysis for categorical treatment to reduce selection bias from both observed and unobserved heterogeneities and to check the robustness of the estimated results. Although the magnitudes vary significantly across two econometric methods, their qualitative results are similar indicating that performing one to multiple packages of climate change responses significantly improves rice yield, profitability, and income, and reduces chemical fertilizer use. The results from the multinomial endogenous treatment effect model indicate that responding farmers with a package related to crop management has a large impact on all outcomes related to rice farming, such as improving yield by 13%, profitability by 14%, and income by 19%, as well as reducing chemical fertilizer use by 7%. Additionally, a package related to income diversification plays a key role in improving household income by 25%. Notably, a more comprehensive package achieves higher yield and income but may not always result in greater profitability than less comprehensive packages. This study concludes with implications for policies to promote climate change responses and encourage the use of those responses while considering geographical context and its different effects on specific outcomes of rice farming.

Does smallholder farmers\u2019 awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 2 improve household food security in the Northern Region of Ghana?

BackgroundSustainable Development Goal 2 aims at ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. Whilst some smallholder farmers are aware of this goal, others are not. The question that arises is whether or not awareness translates into food security. Therefore, this study assessed whether or not smallholder farmers’ awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 2 improves household food security in the Northern Region of Ghana.MethodsThe study used cross-sectional primary data collected from two districts and two municipalities in the region. An endogenous switching regression treatment effects model with ordered outcome was used to estimate the effects of smallholder farmers’ awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 2 on household food insecurity level.ResultsThe age of household head, distance of households to the regional capital, membership of farmer-based organizations, access to e-extension, education, and ownership of radio are the key drivers of farmers’ awareness of Sustainable Development Goal 2. The results from the endogenous switching regression treatment effects model with ordered outcome showed that households who are aware of the second goal are more food secure than their counterparts.ConclusionsIt is therefore prudent for stakeholders promoting and championing Sustainable Development Goals to educate farmers on goal 2 as their awareness of the goal is critical to achieving food security.

Climate change adaptation strategies, farm performance and poverty reduction among smallholder farming households in Ghana

ABSTRACT Many previous studies that evaluated the impact of adaptation to climate change on poverty failed to assess how the gains from adaptation can be assessed from the multidimensional poverty perspective. In this study, survey data were used to examine the effect of adoption of adaptation strategies comprising irrigation, soil conservation, and enhanced cropping calendar management, on farm performance and multi-dimensional poverty index. Multinomial Endogenous Treatment Effect (METE) model which accounts for selectivity bias due to both observed and unobserved factors was employed. The results showed that a higher crop output and a greater reduction in downside risk exposure were associated with adoption of adaptation strategies as a package. The results further revealed that using all three strategies led to a significant reduction in multi-dimensional poverty among adapters. This suggests that adaptation is not only an ex-ante strategy against risk exposure, but an effective means of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It is therefore important for policy makers to consider the promotion of irrigation, soil conservation and cropping calendar management as effective strategies that could enhance farm performance and reduce household poverty. Intensifying extension and farmer education will also enhance adaptation to climate change.

Estimation and inference for distribution and quantile functions in endogenous treatment effect models

Given a standard endogenous treatment effect model, we propose nonparametric estimation and inference procedures for the distribution and quantile functions of the potential outcomes among compliers, as well as the local quantile treatment effect function. The preliminary distribution function estimator is a weighted average of indicator functions, but is not monotonically increasing in general. We therefore propose a simple monotonizing method for proper distribution function estimation, and obtain the quantile function estimator by inversion. Our monotonizing method is an alternative to Chernozhukov et al. (2010) and is arguably preferable when the outcome has unbounded support. We show that all the estimators converge weakly to Gaussian processes at the parametric rate, and propose a multiplier bootstrap for uniform inference. Our uniform results thus generalize the pointwise theory developed by Frölich and Melly (2013). Monte Carlo simulations and an application to the effect of fertility on family income distribution illustrate the use of the methods. All results extend to the subpopulation of treated compliers as well.

Climate change and farmers’ perceptions: impact on rubber farming in the upper Mekong region

This article examines the impact of farmers’ perceptions of temperature change on implementing environmentally friendly agriculture practices on rubber plantations. Based on the data collected from 611 smallholder rubber farmers in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (XSBN) in the upper Mekong region, an endogenous switching probit model and an endogenous treatment effects model are applied to estimate the impacts of farmers’ perceptions of temperature change on implementing environmentally friendly rubber plantations (EFRP) proxied by the intercropping system. While the real annual average temperature in XSBN has been increasing, only 59% of respondents perceived an increasing trend, whereas over 38% perceived no change. Farmers’ perceptions of temperature change appear to hinge on their education and socioeconomic characteristics and the experience of shocks related to regional climate change. Improving farmers’ perceptions of increasing temperature can significantly foster their practice of EFRP. Hence, policies that promote awareness of regional climate change can effectively encourage the implementation of mitigation practices.

Entry Mode Still Matters: A Replication and Extension of Shaver’s (1998) Endogeneity Thesis

This paper seeks to replicate and extend Myles Shaver’s (1998) seminal findings that endogenous strategy selection explains the relationship between entry-mode and subsidiary performance. Expanding Shaver’s (1998) original single-country, single-year study to a multi-country, multi-year sample of Japanese subsidiaries’ foreign market entries, we employ a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model to test for differences in the effect of four entry modes – greenfield, joint venture, acquisition and alliance – on subsidiary performance growth. Our findings show that while endogeneity strategy selection does explain some portion of subsidiary performance, entry mode remains a significant predictor of survival and growth. These results hold even after splitting the sample based on host country cultural distance from Japan. We discuss reasons for the discrepancy in findings, as well as their implications for future research.

Farm households' flood adaptation practices, resilience and food security in the Upper East region, Ghana

This study employs the multinomial endogenous treatment effect model to examine the effect of flood adaptation strategies on farm households' food security in the Upper East region, Ghana. In addition, an ordered probit model was used to analyse the determinants of household's recovery from flood shocks. Farmers adopt on-farm and non-farm activities as adaptation strategies. Estimation results indicate that farmers that employ on-farm and non-farm strategies had their food security situation improved and recovered faster from flood shocks. Age, education, access to extension, credit, farm size and information on flood occurrence drive the farmer's decision to adopt on-farm practices. Marital status, education, farm size and information on flood occurrence significantly influenced adaptation decisions related to non-farm activities. Other factors that influence household's recovery period from flood events were age, education, FBO and perceived severity of flood. Programs and policies that promote extension contacts, increase awareness on flood occurrences and provide non-farm work opportunities can be beneficial to reduce the adverse effects of floods.

Farmer organizations and maize productivity in rural Burkina Faso: The effects of the diversion strategy on cotton input loans

AbstractThis study analyzes the impact of the diversion strategy of cotton inputs on maize productivity among farmer organization (FO) members in Burkina Faso, based on an endogenous treatment effect model. This impact is assessed by measuring the effects of the producers’ strategy of using part of their cotton inputs for growing other crops, such as maize. The data from a 2014 multisectoral survey in Burkina Faso were used. The main result is that maize productivity is 59.11% lower for FO members who divert their cotton inputs. We suggest the development of financing systems for cereals, similar to those in the cotton sector, and the establishment of monitoring the use of input credits.

Happiness Under One Roof? The Intergenerational Co-residence and Subjective Well-Being of Elders in China

This study investigates the relationship between intergenerational co-residence and the subjective well-being (SWB) of elders based on the individual-level panel data collected from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey from 2002 to 2014. We use the endogenous treatment effect model to minimize selection bias and estimate the causal impacts of intergenerational co-residence on parental SWB. In addition, we employ the individual fixed-effect model for robustness checks. Results corroborate that elders who live with their adult–children are happier than those who do not undergo such a living arrangement. We also investigate heterogeneous effects across geographical regions and demographic groups. Older people in rural areas who co-reside with their adult–children gain a more substantial co-residence effect compared with those in urban areas. Moreover, results are robust according to different specifications. Our findings provide useful implications for policymakers in promoting the SWB of elders.