Does Market Experience Promote Rational Choice? Experimental Evidence from Rural Ethiopia

B-Tier
Journal: Economic Development & Cultural Change
Year: 2013
Volume: 61
Issue: 2
Pages: 407 - 429

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We organize a field experiment with sesame farmers and brokers in northern Ethiopia to explore whether market experience fosters rational behavior--proxied by fewer Generalized Axiom of Revealed Preference (GARP) violations in a simple choice experiment. In the baseline study, farmers and brokers performed equally well or badly, which is consistent with qualitative evidence that the prior "trading experience" of our brokers is not obtained in a competitive setting. Following random assignment to a competitive market setting--a one-day trading session in a sesame auction--we find that treated farmers and brokers behave more rationally than their peers in the control group.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:ecdecc:doi:10.1086/668275
Journal Field
Development
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-01-25