IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/rza/wpaper/322.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Risk Preferences and Environmental Uncertainty: Implications for Crop Diversification Decisions in Ethiopia

Author

Listed:
  • Mare Sarr
  • Mintewab Bezabih

Abstract

To the extent that diversifying income portfolio is used as a strategy for shielding against production risk, both individual risk preferences and weather uncertainty could affect crop diversification decisions. This paper is concerned with empirically assessing the effects of risk preferences and rainfall variability on farm level diversity. Unique panel data from Ethiopia consisting of […]

Suggested Citation

  • Mare Sarr & Mintewab Bezabih, 2013. "Risk Preferences and Environmental Uncertainty: Implications for Crop Diversification Decisions in Ethiopia," Working Papers 322, Economic Research Southern Africa.
  • Handle: RePEc:rza:wpaper:322
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://econrsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/working_paper_322.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hans P. Binswanger, 1980. "Attitudes Toward Risk: Experimental Measurement in Rural India," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 62(3), pages 395-407.
    2. Hausman, Jerry A & Taylor, William E, 1981. "Panel Data and Unobservable Individual Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1377-1398, November.
    3. Dercon, Stefan, 2004. "Growth and shocks: evidence from rural Ethiopia," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 74(2), pages 309-329, August.
    4. Smale, Melinda & Bellon, Mauricio R & Aguirre Gomez, Jose Alfonso, 2001. "Maize Diversity, Variety Attributes, and Farmers' Choices in Southeastern Guanajuato, Mexico," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 50(1), pages 201-225, October.
    5. Stefan Baumgärtner & Martin F. Quaas, 2007. "Agro-biodiversity as natural insurance and the development of financial insurance markets," Working Paper Series in Economics 61, University of Lüneburg, Institute of Economics.
    6. Joseph R. Blasi & Douglas L. Kruse & Harry M. Markowitz, 2010. "Risk and Lack of Diversification under Employee Ownership and Shared Capitalism," NBER Chapters, in: Shared Capitalism at Work: Employee Ownership, Profit and Gain Sharing, and Broad-based Stock Options, pages 105-136, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Dercon, Stefan, 1996. "Risk, Crop Choice, and Savings: Evidence from Tanzania," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(3), pages 485-513, April.
    8. Kurosaki, Takashi & Fafchamps, Marcel, 2002. "Insurance market efficiency and crop choices in Pakistan," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 419-453, April.
    9. Jeffrey M Wooldridge, 2010. "Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 2, volume 1, number 0262232588, April.
    10. Teklewold, Hailemariam & Köhlin, Gunnar, 2010. "Risk Preferences as Determinants of Soil Conservation Decisions in Ethiopia," RFF Working Paper Series dp-10-19-efd, Resources for the Future.
    11. Binswanger, Hans P, 1981. "Attitudes toward Risk: Theoretical Implications of an Experiment in Rural India," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 91(364), pages 867-890, December.
    12. Di Falco, Salvatore & Bezabih, Mintewab & Yesuf, Mahmud, 2010. "Seeds for livelihood: Crop biodiversity and food production in Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1695-1702, June.
    13. Salvatore Di Falco & Jean-Paul Chavas, 2006. "Crop genetic diversity, farm productivity and the management of environmental risk in rainfed agriculture," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 33(3), pages 289-314, September.
    14. Akinwumi A. Adesina & Moses M. Zinnah, 1993. "Technology characteristics, farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions: A Tobit model application in Sierra Leone," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 9(4), pages 297-311, December.
    15. Kapteyn, A. & Teppa, F., 2002. "Subjective Measures of Risk Aversion and Portfolio Choice," Discussion Paper 2002-11, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    16. Marcel Fafchamps, 1992. "Cash Crop Production, Food Price Volatility, and Rural Market Integration in the Third World," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 74(1), pages 90-99.
    17. Adesina, Akinwumi A. & Zinnah, Moses M., 1993. "Technology characteristics, farmers' perceptions and adoption decisions: A Tobit model application in Sierra Leone," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 9(4), pages 297-311, December.
    18. Mahmud Yesuf & Randall A. Bluffstone, 2009. "Poverty, Risk Aversion, and Path Dependence in Low-Income Countries: Experimental Evidence from Ethiopia," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 91(4), pages 1022-1037.
    19. Kapteyn, A. & Teppa, F., 2002. "Subjective Measures of Risk Aversion and Portfolio Choice," Discussion Paper 2002-11, Tilburg University, Center for Economic Research.
    20. Chavas, Jean-Paul & Holt, Matthew T, 1996. "Economic Behavior under Uncertainty: A Joint Analysis of Risk Preferences and Technology," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 78(2), pages 329-335, May.
    21. Van Dusen, M. Eric, 2000. "In Situ Conservation Of Crop Genetic Resources In The Mexican Milpa System," Dissertations 11941, University of California, Davis, Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics.
    22. Salvatore Di Falco & Jean-Paul Chavas, 2008. "Rainfall Shocks, Resilience, and the Effects of Crop Biodiversity on Agroecosystem Productivity," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 84(1), pages 83-96.
    23. Mundlak, Yair, 1978. "On the Pooling of Time Series and Cross Section Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 46(1), pages 69-85, January.
    24. H. M. G. Herath & J. Brian Hardaker & Jock R. Anderson, 1982. "Choice of Varieties by Sri Lanka Rice Farmers: Comparing Alternative Decision Models," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 64(1), pages 87-93.
    25. Tilman, David & Polasky, Stephen & Lehman, Clarence, 2005. "Diversity, productivity and temporal stability in the economies of humans and nature," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 405-426, May.
    26. Eswaran, Mukesh & Kotwal, Ashok, 1990. "Implications of Credit Constraints for Risk Behaviour in Less Developed Economies," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 42(2), pages 473-482, April.
    27. William Lin & G. W. Dean & C. V. Moore, 1974. "An Empirical Test of Utility vs. Profit Maximization in Agricultural Production," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 56(3), pages 497-508.
    28. Andrew P. Barkley & Lori L. Porter, 1996. "The Determinants of Wheat Variety Selection in Kansas, 1974 to 1993," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 78(1), pages 202-211.
    29. Benin, S. & Smale, M. & Pender, J. & Gebremedhin, B. & Ehui, S., 2004. "The economic determinants of cereal crop diversity on farms in the Ethiopian highlands," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 31(2-3), pages 197-208, December.
    30. Di Falco, Salvatore & Perrings, Charles, 2005. "Crop biodiversity, risk management and the implications of agricultural assistance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(4), pages 459-466, December.
    31. Heaton, John & Lucas, Deborah, 2000. "Portfolio Choice in the Presence of Background Risk," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 110(460), pages 1-26, January.
    32. Melinda Smale & Jason Hartell & Paul W. Heisey & Ben Senauer, 1998. "The Contribution of Genetic Resources and Diversity to Wheat Production in the Punjab of Pakistan," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 80(3), pages 482-493.
    33. Stefan Baumgärtner & Martin F. Quaas, 2010. "Managing increasing environmental risks through agrobiodiversity and agrienvironmental policies," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 41(5), pages 483-496, September.
    34. Chavas, Jean-Paul, 2004. "Risk Analysis in Theory and Practice," Elsevier Monographs, Elsevier, edition 1, number 9780121706210.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tesfaye, Wondimagegn & Tirivayi, Nyasha, 2020. "Crop diversity, household welfare and consumption smoothing under risk: Evidence from rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    2. Bozzola, Martina & Smale, Melinda, 2020. "The welfare effects of crop biodiversity as an adaptation to climate shocks in Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    3. Prosper F. Bangwayo‐Skeete & Mintewab Bezabih & Precious Zikhali, 2012. "Crop biodiversity, productivity and production risk: Panel data micro‐evidence from Ethiopia," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 36(4), pages 263-273, November.
    4. Di Falco, Salvatore & Bezabih, Mintewab & Yesuf, Mahmud, 2010. "Seeds for livelihood: Crop biodiversity and food production in Ethiopia," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(8), pages 1695-1702, June.
    5. Dzanku, Fred M., 2015. "Household-specific food price differentials and high-value crop production in rural Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 73-82.
    6. Finger, Robert & Buchmann, Nina, 2014. "An ecological economic assessment of risk reducing effects of species diversity in grassland production," 2014 International Congress, August 26-29, 2014, Ljubljana, Slovenia 182681, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    7. Chavas, Jean-Paul, 2008. "On the economics of agricultural production," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 54(4), pages 1-16.
    8. Ayenew, Habtamu Yesigat & Sauer, Johannes & Abate-Kassa, Getachew, 2016. "Cost of Risk Exposure, Farm Disinvestment and Adaptation to Climate Uncertainties: The Case of Arable Farms in the EU," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235595, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Makate, Clifton & Angelsen, Arild & Holden, Stein Terje & Westengen, Ola Tveitereid, 2022. "Crops in crises: Shocks shape smallholders' diversification in rural Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 159(C).
    10. Matsushita, Kyohei & Yamane, Fumihiro & Asano, Kota, 2016. "Linkage between crop diversity and agro-ecosystem resilience: Nonmonotonic agricultural response under alternate regimes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 23-31.
    11. Antonelli, Chiara & Coromaldi, Manuela & Pallante, Giacomo, 2022. "Crop and income diversification for rural adaptation: Insights from Ugandan panel data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    12. Salazar-Espinoza, César & Jones, Sam & Tarp, Finn, 2015. "Weather shocks and cropland decisions in rural Mozambique," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 9-21.
    13. Bareille, François & Dupraz, Pierre, 2016. "Biodiversity productive effects in milk farms of western France: a multi-output primal system," 149th Seminar, October 27-28, 2016, Rennes, France 244774, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Elisa Gatto & Alba Marino & Guido Signorino, 2013. "Biodiversity and risk management in agriculture: what do we learn from CAP reforms? A farm-level analysis," ERSA conference papers ersa13p805, European Regional Science Association.
    15. Finger, Robert & Buchmann, Nina, 2015. "An ecological economic assessment of risk-reducing effects of species diversity in managed grasslands," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 89-97.
    16. François Bareille & Pierre Dupraz, 2017. "Biodiversity Productive Capacity in Mixed Farms of North-West of France: a Multi-output Primal System," Working Papers SMART 17-03, INRAE UMR SMART.
    17. Mintewab Bezabih & Remidius Ruhinduka & Mare Sarr, 2016. "Climate change perception and system of rice intensification (SRI) impact on dispersion and downside risk: a moment approximation approach," GRI Working Papers 256, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    18. Josephson, Anna & Ricker-Gilbert, Jacob, 2020. "Preferences and crop choice during Zimbabwe’s macroeconomic crisis," African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, African Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 15(3), September.
    19. Eder, Andreas & Salhofer, Klaus & Quddoos, Abdul, 2024. "The impact of cereal crop diversification on farm labor productivity under changing climatic conditions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 223(C).
    20. Sebastain N. Awondo & Octavio A. Ramirez & Gregory J. Colson & Esendugue G. Fonsah & Genti Kostandini, 2017. "Self†protection from weather risk using improved maize varieties or off†farm income and the propensity for insurance," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(1), pages 61-76, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    agriculture; Consumer Behavior; uncertainty;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • C35 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q57 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Ecological Economics

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rza:wpaper:322. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Maggi Sigg (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersacza.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.