Endogenous Treatment Effect Model Research Articles

Livestock farming and women empowerment in rural Bangladesh: a mixed method approach

BackgroundIn Bangladesh, livestock farming is not only a major source of animal protein, but it also provides opportunities for women to contribute to household income. Therefore, this study was undertaken to identify the empowerment status of women livestock farmers, factors influencing women's participation in livestock farming and its impact on women's empowerment.MethodsThe study was conducted in the Mymensingh district (administrative unit) of Bangladesh, due to the active participation of women in livestock farming activities. A total of 200 women were surveyed between May to November 2018. Additionally, prior to the final survey, 02 Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were performed to gain insight into the context of the study areas. Furthermore, a total of 12 semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with 12 experienced women livestock farmers to collect data regarding the challenges they encounter in livestock farming. Women empowerment was measured using four domains: decision-making process, ownership of assets, social and political awareness, and freedom of mobility. Descriptive statistics, and Heckman's endogenous treatment effect model were applied to analyze the data.ResultsThe results revealed that majority (75%) of women who are involved in livestock farming had a medium level of empowerment. Women's decision to participate in livestock farming was positively influenced by farm size, knowledge, extension contact, and training. According to the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) value, the empowerment status of women is 16 points higher among participants in livestock farming compared to non-participants. Furthermore, women in rural areas face several obstacles such as economic issues and inadequate marketing facilities, which may prevent them from engaging in livestock farming.ConclusionsEducating women through raising awareness and providing training is warranted because there is a notable disparity in the empowerment status of women who are and are not involved in livestock farming. This will help women improve their social awareness, decision-making capacity, and mobility. Livestock initiatives that encourage women's involvement could be generated by various rural-focused organizations.

The Impact of Air Pollution Information on Individuals' Exercise Behavior: Empirical Study Using Wearable and Mobile Devices Data.

Physical exercise and exposure to air pollution have counteracting effects on individuals' health outcomes. Knowledge on individuals' real-time exercise behavior response to different pollution information sources remains inadequate. This study aims to examine the extent to which individuals avoid polluted air during exercise activities in response to different air pollution information sources. We used data on individuals' exercise behaviors captured by wearable and mobile devices in 83 Chinese cities over a 2-year time span. In our data set, 35.99% (5896/16,379) of individuals were female and 64% (10,483/16,379) were male, and their ages predominantly ranged from 18 to 50 years. We further augmented the exercise behavior data with air pollution information that included city-hourly level measures of the Air Quality Index and particulate matter 2.5 concentration (in µg/m3), and weather data that include city-hourly level measures of air temperature (ºC), dew point (ºC), wind speed (m/s), and wind direction (degrees). We used a linear panel fixed effect model to estimate individuals' exercise-aversion behaviors (ie, running exercise distance at individual-hour, city-hour, or city-day levels) and conducted robustness checks using the endogenous treatment effect model and regression discontinuity method. We examined if alternative air pollution information sources could moderate (ie, substitute or complement) the role of mainstream air pollution indicators. Our results show that individuals exhibit a reduction of running exercise behaviors by about 0.50 km (or 7.5%; P<.001) during instances of moderate to severe air pollution, and there is no evidence of reduced distances in instances of light air pollution. Furthermore, individuals' exercise-aversion behaviors in response to mainstream air pollution information are heightened by different alternative information sources, such as social connections and social media user-generated content about air pollution. Our results highlight the complementary role of different alternative information sources of air pollution in inducing individuals' aversion behaviors and the importance of using different information channels to increase public awareness beyond official air pollution alerts.

Do outgrower schemes enhance technology adoption and productivity? Evidence from maize farmers in Northern Ghana

AbstractNucleus outgrower schemes are contractual arrangements where well‐resourced large‐scale farmers (nucleus farmers) are empowered by development support agencies to take charge of smallholder farmers, by providing them with market access and the necessary training on agronomic practices and farm inputs for production. In this study, we examine the impact of participation in outgrower scheme on technology adoption and farm productivity, using data from 634 smallholder maize farmers in Northern Ghana. We use the linear regression with endogenous treatment effects model to account for both observable and unobservable selection bias. The results reveal positive and significant marginal effects of outgrower scheme participation on technology adoption and maize yields. Outgrower scheme participants applied 6% and 82% more inorganic fertilizer and weedicides, respectively, than nonparticipants. Maize yield increased by about 3% for the participants more than nonparticipants. The findings also show that factors such as distance to market, distance to nucleus farmers' satellite office, nucleus outgrower scheme awareness, input price, and farmer‐based organization significantly influence outgrower scheme participation decisions, as well as technology adoption and maize yields.

Determinants of Mobile Customer Relationship Management Adoption and Its Impact on Firm Performance in Kenya

ABSTRACT This study investigates the determinants of mobile customer relationship management (mCRM) adoption, and its impact on firm performance measured as sales revenue performance. Data collected from business enterprises in Kenya is analyzed using an instrumental variables endogenous treatment effects model. We find that information technology infrastructure, firm size, and competition are positively associated with the adoption of mCRM. We also find that mCRM has a positive and significant impact on sales revenue performance. We conclude that government investment in information and communications technology infrastructure facilitating the mCRM interface may play a critical role in enhancing firm performance.

The role of financial and marketing services on rural shea-producing women

Purpose: This study aims to empirically investigate the impact of financial and marketing services on shea butter production, with an emphasis on the Tolon district of Ghana, to inform evidence-based policies and practices. Research methodology: This study employed a quantitative research design, utilizing a survey approach to collect data from a sample of shea butter producers in the Tolon District of Ghana. In total, 151 Shea nut processors from Tolon, Dimabi 1, and Dimabi 2 were selected using a combination of purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected through structured questionnaires, which were subsequently analyzed using quantitative methods. Furthermore, the study employed linear regression analysis with an endogenous treatment effect model in STATA version 17 to examine the relationship between financial and marketing services, and shea butter production. Results: The empirical evidence derived from the linear regression with the endogenous treatment model indicates a statistically significant and positive relationship between financial and marketing services and shea butter production, indicating that financial and marketing services are significant factors in predicting the productivity of shea butter production. Limitations: The sample size of the study was small, which may restrict the generalizability of the findings. Contribution: This study provides novel insights into the dynamics of shea butter production in Ghana’s Tolon District by highlighting the quantitative effect of financial and marketing services on shea butter production, and the importance of improving access to these services. This study also provides evidence-based recommendations for collaborative synergies between government and non-governmental organizations to establish microfinance programs and marketing service centers to facilitate easier access to these essential services for shea butter producers.

How does intergenerational coresidence affect the physical health of middle-aged children? Evidence from China

ABSTRACT Due to increasing longevity and decreasing fertility, the middle-aged generation has emerged as the primary caregivers for their elderly parents in China. Using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey, this study employs an endogenous treatment effect model to estimate the causal impact of intergenerational coresidence on the physical health of middle-aged children. The findings reveal that coresidence significantly deteriorates the physical health of middle-aged children. Notably, this effect is more pronounced in employed individuals compared to unemployed ones. Marginal effect analysis uncovers that coresidence has adverse effects on middle-aged children who are either particularly healthy or particularly unhealthy, while the marginal impact of coresidence on children in average health conditions is insignificant.

Credit constraints and risk exposure in scaled farming: insights from East China

Credit constraints and risk exposure in scaled farming: insights from East China

Climate change adaptation and smallholder farmers welfare: Empirical evidence from the Sahelian Region of West Africa

Global climate change has threatened sustainable agricultural growth over the years, severely affecting food sufficiency and the livelihood of farmers. The Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSAT), as a form of adaptation, offer pathways for mitigating the negative effect of climate change on crop producers in developing countries. This study uses cross-country (Mali and Niger) cross-sectional data to examine the welfare (proxied by crop sales revenue and income) impact of multiple adoptions of CSAT on smallholder farm households. To control for potential endogeneity that leads to bias estimates, we employ the multinomial endogenous treatment effect (METE) model, complemented with the inverse probability weighted regression adjustment (IPWRA) for the analysis. The result reveals that household (education, location, and assets) and plot (plot size, plot topography, and soil fertility) characteristics, institutional factors (farmer-based organization, access to formal credit, and extension service) and crop disease shock significantly influence different combinations of CSAT adoption. The impact estimates show that adopting joint combinations of CSAT leads to higher crop sales revenue and income among the farmers in most cases. These findings suggest that the adoption of CSAT as a package should be encouraged and disseminated in the West Africa Sahel region. Moreover, some sociodemographic and institutional factors such as education, credit access, farmer-based organizations, and extension services could be strengthened for easy and rapid adoption of CSAT by smallholder farmers, which subsequently improves their economic welfare.

Can crop insurance help optimize farmers’ decisions on pesticides use? Evidence from family farms in East China

Pesticides are important agricultural inputs, which can effectively reduce crop growth risk, but irrational use of pesticides also brings major challenges to the green development of agriculture. This paper constructs a theoretical framework of the effect of crop insurance on pesticides usage. Then using family farm survey data in East China, we measure the marginal value cost ratio (MVCR) of pesticides use through the improved damage abatement production function (DAPF), and empirically analyze the impact of crop insurance on MVCR of pesticides use by employing the endogenous treatment effect model (ETEM). The results show that 42.6% of family farms in the sample area purchased crop insurance, and almost all family farms overused pesticides, but the degree was relatively lower among the family farms with crop insurance. Crop insurance has a significantly positive effect on the MVCR of pesticides use, which indicates that it can optimize farmers’ pesticides use behavior. This conclusion is also confirmed by several robustness checks. Thus, the promotion of agricultural insurance can play the role of promoting the green development of agriculture to a certain extent.

COVID-19 pandemic and manufacturing sector: An evaluation of coping strategies

This study investigates the adoption and impact of coping strategies within the manufacturing sector in the context of pandemic disruptions. Utilizing the multinomial endogenous treatment effects model, we accounted for potential selection biases in our analysis of a comprehensive dataset comprising 29,443 Vietnamese manufacturing firms. The most prevalent coping strategy was the pursuit of new markets, adopted by approximately 27.9 percent of the firms surveyed. Notably, a significant proportion of firms had not yet implemented any coping strategies to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Our findings indicate a varied degree of effectiveness among the coping strategies in enhancing revenue outcomes. Strategies such as the promotion of e-commerce and the exploration of new output markets yielded positive impacts on firm performance, with increases of 7.82 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively. Conversely, other strategies demonstrated relatively lower effectiveness. This underscores the necessity for additional research to elucidate the role of government support programs and policies in facilitating the adoption of effective coping strategies (Huang et al., 2021), thereby enabling manufacturing firms to maintain operational resilience in the face of potential future disruptions.

Economic impact of adopting bundled SAPs on crop yield and household incomes among smallholder maize farmers in Morogoro region, Tanzania

This paper uses a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model and data from a sample of 470 farming households to assess the impacts of adopting sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) on farm yield and household incomes among smallholder maize farmers in Morogoro region. Results show that combination of improved maize and crop residual significantly increased maize yield by 46%, while intercropping with crop residual (65%), improved maize seeds with manure use (58%), and maize rotation with intercropping (57%). The model estimates indicate that individual elements of SAPs increased yield by crop residual (30%), crop rotation (38%), improved maize varieties (85%), intercropping (58%), and manure (43%) whereas, the application of bundled SAPs had significant impacts on the household income via the following combinations; maize-legume rotation and crop residual (50%), improved maize and crop residual (46%), improved maize and manure (70%), maize-legumes rotation and improved maize (46%), maize rotation and intercropping (68%), maize rotation, improved maize, crop residual, and intercropping (41%), and lastly improved maize, intercropping, manure, crop residual, and crop rotation (55%). The study recommends actors involved in the design, promotion and dissemination of SAPs to find a suitable mix or combination of these practices that will enhance maize productivity and incomes, while simultaneously addressing issues related to the dis-adoption of SAPs, and climate change, by raising awareness and educating to farmers about the benefits of using SAPs and implementing mitigative measures for climate change. This includes providing financial incentives such as loans and subsidies, as well as conducting policy reforms to evaluate and adjust policies that currently favor the use of conventional practices in Tanzania.

Farmers' coping strategies to artisanal small-scale mining activities: welfare improvement or deterioration in Asutifi North District of Ghana?

PurposeIn Ghana, legal and illegal artisanal small-scale mining (ASM) activities have attracted the attention of the general populace and academia with varied opinions. This study examined how adopting the coping strategies for ASM operations affected the welfare of farm households.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were solicited from respondents using a semi-structured questionnaire. This paper used the endogenous treatment effect model to quantitatively estimate whether or not farmers who adopt coping strategies for activities of ASM have improved or deteriorated welfare.FindingsThe results revealed that households adopted coping strategies such as diversification, social networking, land reclamation, borrowing, dependence on the market for food and resettlement in other communities. The endogenous treatment effect model results show that households that adopted land reclamation and social networking had improved welfare regarding consumption expenditure and food security compared to non-adopters. Conversely, diversification was associated with lower consumption expenditures and high food insecurity among adopters.Practical implicationsThis paper recommends that farm households in mining communities form cooperatives and farmer-based organizations to ensure improved access to joint resources for enhanced capacity to cope with ASM-induced shocks. There is a need for government and civil society organizations to encourage and support land reclamation measures.Originality/valueThis paper covers a broader perspective and deploys more than one welfare proxy, which has not been considered before in previous studies.

Research on farmers' adoption of additional technology combinations: Practice from Chongqing, China.

Tobacco farmers often adopt additional multiple agricultural technologies (AMATs) in addition to implementing the standardized technical system in China. Based on the cross-sectional micro data of 346 households of Chongqing, China, this paper assesses the determinants and impacts of the adoption of AMATs on income by using a multinomial endogenous treatment effects model to correct for selection bias and endogeneity caused by observed and unobserved heterogeneity. The results show that (1) the adoption of combinations of AMATs is determined by the household head's education level, experience in tobacco growing, the shortest distance to nearby town, the amount of technical training, the ratio of land available for mechanical cultivation to tobacco land, the distance to extension station, and the ratio of leased land. (2) The adoption of combinations of AMATs has heterogeneous effects on farmers' income through yield and quality improvement. (3) The comprehensive combination of AMATs is not necessarily the best option for farmers. Due to the interaction between technologies such as complementary, substitute or supplementary effects, the moderate implementation of fertilizers and soil improvement is the most effective combination. The results of this research provide a scientific basis for improving the adoption efficiency of AMATs in China.

Effect of market participation on the food and nutrition security status of the rural smallholder farmers: the case of Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces, South Africa

IntroductionHunger and malnutrition remain serious issues in developing countries, particularly in rural regions. Increased market participation of smallholder farmers can result in improved livelihood and nutrition outcomes. However, smallholder farmers encounter several obstacles that hinder their ability to participate in the market. As a result, the objective of this study is to investigate the factors that influence market participation and its impact on household nutrition security.MethodsThe study relied on secondary data gathered from a sample size of 1,520 people. About 389 of smallholder farmers participated in the market.Results and DiscussionThe results from Food Consumption Score (FSC) cut-off points showed that in the overall sample households, 54% were within the acceptable food consumption diets (&amp;gt;35), while 30 and 16% were in the borderline (21.5–35) and poor diets (0–21), respectively. According to the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) findings, 57% of smallholder farmers in the total population sample consumed highly diverse diets (consisting of at least six food groups), while 25 and 18% of smallholder farmers consumed diets with medium dietary diversity (consisting of 4–5 food groups) and low dietary diversity (consisting of at most three food groups), respectively. The results from marginal analysis showed that gender of household head, receiving social grants and higher wealth index had a positive impact on market participation. The results from Poisson endogenous treatment effect model showed that household size, ownership of livestock, social grant, wealth index, access to market information, and involvement in crop production had a positive and statistically significant impact on household nutrition security. On the other hand, agricultural assistance showed a negative and significant impact on household nutrition security.Conclusion and RecommendationsIt can be concluded that an improvement in agricultural assistance can improve the household nutrition security status. The improvement of agricultural assistance is more associated with improvement of extension services, which can lead to more production of diverse crops and more market participation. Health extension workers need to do more nutrition programs and workshops in rural areas. These programs and workshops will be intended on providing nutrition education, which will create awareness to smallholder farmers on diverse and balanced food items they should produce, sell, and consume.

Do Farmers Participating in Short Food Supply Chains Use Less Pesticides? Evidence from France

Proponents of short food supply chains (SFSC) have lauded their environmental benefits. Nevertheless, most studies on SFSCs have focused on their climate impact, while the synthetic pesticide use by farmers participating in SFSCs has received little research attention. In this study, we investigate the effect of farmers' involvement in different SFSC channels on synthetic pesticide use and crop yields. This study relies on data obtained from the 2020 French agricultural census and a 2018 French national survey on the phytosanitary practices of representative market gardeners. This paper uses a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model in order to account for endogeneity. We demonstrate that the effect of SFSC participation on farmers' synthetic pesticide use varies depending on the type of SFSC channel employed. Farmers who sell part of their vegetable crops through direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels use significantly fewer synthetic pesticides than those who only sell their crops through long food supply chains (LFSC). However, there is no evidence that farmers involved in direct-to-retailer (DTR) channels use significantly fewer synthetic pesticides. In addition, we have not found any evidence that SFSC participation decreases crop yields.

Sustainable intensification and food security: A panel data assessment of the smallholder maize farmers in Uganda

Food security is touted as an essential condition for social growth. Yet, the food deficit is rampant among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Besides, farm productivity is considered the theme for improving household food security outcomes. As one of the sub-Saharan African countries, Uganda is affected by food insecurity caused by the declining availability of cropped farmland. Sustainable intensification (SI) is a critical farming practice that enhances crop yield and reduces environmental degradation. However, there is scanty empirical evidence on if farming practices contributing to sustainable intensification can improve the household livelihood and food security. In this research, we used multinomial endogenous treatment effects and a balanced Uganda National Panel Survey to evaluate the impacts of SI technologies on maize farming households' livelihood and food security. We ranked households into four groups depending on the inputs and soil management practices they use on their maize farms, namely “non-adopters”, intensification group”, “sustainable group”, and “sustainable intensification group”. The multinomial endogenous treatment effect (METE) model's findings suggested using the SI cluster is associated with improved food consumption score, household dietary diversity score, and per capita expenditure using non-adopters as the baseline group. Further, these improvements are determined by combining maize-legume intercrop and inorganic fertilizer practices. The results indicate that experts and researchers should espouse multidimensional and all-inclusive technological evaluation methods instead of conservative reductionists methods that concentrate on a solo farming practice at a time. Also, the findings can guide the sustainable vector that highlights and strengthens all-inclusive agricultural growth with policymakers and scientists working with marginalized farmers.

Off-Farm Employment, Outsourced Machinery Services, and Farmers’ Ratoon Rice Production Behavior: Evidence from Rice Farmers in Central China

Promoting ratoon rice is a critical measure for ensuring food security in China. Understanding the mechanism underlying farmers’ decision-making involving ratoon rice production may contribute to the design and implementation of extension policies. This study examined the impact of off-farm employment and outsourced machinery services on farmers’ ratoon rice production behavior. We used a representative household survey of 1752 rice farmers in Hubei province in central China and a multinomial endogenous treatment effect model to address potential self-selection biases from both observable and unobservable factors. Our estimates suggest that the probability of ratoon rice production decreases by 17.2% for farmers with off-farm employment, while the probability of ratoon rice production increases by 78.9% and 57% for farmers with outsourced machinery services and those with simultaneous off-farm employment and outsourced machinery services, respectively. Moreover, we found that outsourced machinery services can mitigate the negative impact of agricultural labor aging and feminization on ratoon rice production to some extent. Outsourced machinery services have regional heterogeneity effects as farmers in non-plain areas are more likely to engage in ratoon rice production.

Farmer education and adoption of sustainable and chemical pesticide-free agriculture: evidence from rural Burkina Faso

PurposeIn a context where the promotion of a more sustainable agriculture is clearly aimed at, the paradoxical combination of sustainable agricultural practices (SAP) with chemical pesticides use instead of biological pest management techniques is recurrent in Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries like Burkina Faso. Chemical pesticides are harmful to the environment and health. This paper aims to analyze the role of farmer education on the mode of adoption of SAP.Design/methodology/approachAn endogenous treatment effect model is used with survey data on 1,898 rural households in Burkina Faso.FindingsThe results show a positive causal effect of farmer education on sustainable and chemical pesticide-free agriculture adoption.Research limitations/implicationsFormal education appears to be general. This research could be extended to consider the role of training or extension services. More detailed results, focusing on spatial effects, could reinforce those of the present research.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies, this paper addresses for the first time the paradoxical behavior of combining SAP with chemical pesticides use. It shows that farmer education contributes to explain it and is therefore a determining factor for a more sustainable agriculture.

Social norms perspective of agriculture technology adoption and welfare in Ghana: Extending multinomial endogenous treatment effect model

The development of agriculture and improving farmers’ welfare help focus the attention of researchers towards the adoption of individual and combined technology choices which focus on socio-economic and plot features. This paper used current data (2019) from rice farmers in Northern Ghana to extend multinomial endogenous treatment effect model which control selection bias to culture and religion. The research examined predictors of improved rice developed domestically, foreign improved rice varieties and the joint of the two kinds, and how each alternative impact the welfare of farmers (rice yield, per capita income, consumption expenditure and total assets). Our empirical findings show that the adoption of any alternative makes farmers better-off relative to non-adoption. Also, adopters in Guan and Christian faith have higher gains relative to their counter-part cultural and religious units. This paper recommends the importance of including cultural and religious values in technology sensitisation programmes and intense collaboration of crucial stakeholders to offer farmers alternatives to choices.

Does improved cooking fuel empower women? Evidence from India

AbstractReliance on biomass fuel remains high in many developing countries, like India. Shifting to clean fuel has widely recognized benefits for women in saving time, improving health, and creating a better environment. Other benefits to women in the form of increasing empowerment are a relatively under‐researched area. Using data from the nationally representative National Family Health Survey (2019–21) in India, this study uses endogenous treatment effect models to explore the causal effect of shifting to clean fuel on awareness, work, mobility, decision‐making and financial autonomy. Analysis reveals significant gains in all dimensions, particularly in women's mobility and decision‐making. The gains are relatively higher among less educated women, those from poor households, and those belonging to socially advantaged groups. Focusing on gains to empowerment will motivate women to adopt clean fuel and enable a holistic transformation of society through the simultaneous attainment of several Sustainable Development Goals.