Exposure to large-scale farms increases smallholders' competitive behavior and closes the gender gap

Menusch Khadjavi, Kacana Sipangule and Rainer Thiele

Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy from Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel)

Abstract: We investigate how exposure to large-scale farms affects smallholders’ competitive behavior. Based on lab-in-the-field experimental measures covering more than 900 smallholders and 400 children in Zambia, we find that smallholders who are traditionally dependent on subsistence agriculture behave more competitively when they are located close to large-scale farms. This effect is especially pronounced for female smallholders and closes the gender gap associated with competitiveness. This result replicates for their children. We identify female employment and shifting intra-household tasks as a possible mechanism. Our results provide new insights for understanding how changes in societal arrangements like market integration influence economic behavior.

Keywords: Market integration; Competitive behavior; Large-scale farms; Smallholders; Endogenous preferences; Lab-in-the-field experiment; Zambia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O12 O13 P11 P14 Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-exp
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Journal Article: Exposure to large-scale farms increases smallholders’ competitive behavior and closes the gender gap (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:ifwkie:301882

DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2023.106519

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