Factor Market Failures and the Adoption of Irrigation in Rwanda

Maria Jones, Florence Kondylis, John Loeser and Jeremy Magruder

No 26698, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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.

JEL-codes: O1 O12 O13 Q12 Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-01
Note: DEV
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Published as Maria Jones & Florence Kondylis & John Loeser & Jeremy Magruder, 2022. "Factor Market Failures and the Adoption of Irrigation in Rwanda," American Economic Review, vol 112(7), pages 2316-2352.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Factor Market Failures and the Adoption of Irrigation in Rwanda (2022)
Working Paper: Factor Market Failures and the Adoption of Irrigation in Rwanda (2019)
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