Factor Market Failures and the Adoption of Irrigation in Rwanda

S-Tier
Journal: American Economic Review
Year: 2022
Volume: 112
Issue: 7
Pages: 2316-52

Authors (4)

Score contribution per author:

2.011 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

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

Abstract

Factor market failures can limit adoption of profitable technologies. We leverage a plot-level spatial regression discontinuity design in the context of irrigation use by farmers provided free access to water. Using irrigation boosts profits by 43–62 percent. Yet, farmers only irrigate 30 percent of plots because of labor costs. We demonstrate inefficient irrigation use, by showing farmers irrigating one plot reduce their irrigation use on other plots. This inefficiency is largest for smaller households and wealthier households, suggesting labor market frictions constrain use of irrigation.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:aea:aecrev:v:112:y:2022:i:7:p:2316-52
Journal Field
General
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25