Working Paper: NBER ID: w26698
Authors: Maria Jones; Florence Kondylis; John Loeser; Jeremy Magruder
Abstract: We examine constraints to adoption of new technologies in the context of hillside irrigation schemes in Rwanda. We leverage a plot-level spatial regression discontinuity design to produce 3 key results. First, irrigation enables dry season horticultural production, which boosts on-farm cash profits by 70%. Second, adoption is constrained: access to irrigation causes farmers to substitute labor and inputs away from their other plots. Eliminating this substitution would increase adoption by at least 21%. Third, this substitution is largest for smaller households and wealthier households. This result can be explained by labor market failures in a standard agricultural household model.
Keywords: Irrigation; Agricultural Productivity; Market Failures; Rwanda
JEL Codes: O10; O12; O13; Q12; Q15
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Labor market failures (J48) | Adoption of irrigation (Q15) |
| Dry season horticultural production (O13) | On-farm cash profits (Q12) |
| Labor market inefficiencies (J48) | Adoption decisions (J13) |
| Access to irrigation (Q15) | On-farm cash profits (Q12) |
| Access to irrigation (Q15) | Dry season horticultural production (O13) |