1,721,078 research outputs found
Failing Grade: 89% of Introduction-to-Psychology textbooks that define or explain statistical significance do so incorrectly
No full textNull-hypothesis significance testing (NHST) is commonly used in psychology; however, it is widely acknowledged that NHST is not well understood by either psychology professors or psychology students. In the current study, we investigated whether introduction-to-psychology textbooks accurately define and explain statistical significance. We examined 30 introductory-psychology textbooks, including the best-selling books from the United States and Canada, and found that 89% incorrectly defined or explained statistical significance. Incorrect definitions and explanations were most often consistent with the odds-against-chance fallacy. These results suggest that it is common for introduction-to-psychology students to be taught incorrect interpretations of statistical significance. We hope that our results will create awareness among authors of introductory-psychology books and provide the impetus for corrective action. To help with classroom instruction, we provide slides that correctly describe NHST and may be useful for introductory-psychology instructors
Good and bad institutions: Is the debate over? Cross-country firm-level evidence from the textile industry
Full text linkUsing firm-level data from nine developing countries, we demonstrate that certain institutions, like restrictive labour market regulations, that are considered bad for economic growth might be beneficial for production efficiency, whereas good business environment, which is considered beneficial for economic growth, might have an adverse impact on production efficiency. We argue that our results suggest that there might be significant difference in the macro- and micro-impacts of institutional quality, such that the classification of institutions into 'good' and 'bad might be premature. © The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved
THREE ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA: LABOUR ALLOCATION, ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE AND CO-OPERATIVE PARTICIPATION
No full textSmallholder farmers dominate agricultural production in many developing countries and produce a significant portion of the food that is consumed within those countries. Given their important contribution, there is strong consensus that improving productivity among smallholder farmers is one of the most effective ways of ensuring food security and alleviating poverty in developing countries. However, the means by which agricultural performance could be enhanced is not straight forward because smallholder farmers operate under complex environments and face multifaceted challenges, including declining soil fertility, the use of poor farming techniques, limited use of fertilizers, low technology adoption, gender disparities, and market failures.
This study contributes to improving our understanding of smallholder farmers by examining three of these challenges: labour allocation, technology adoption, and market selection. The specific goals of this study are to: (1) assess the influence of social norms on farm labour allocation and productivity; and (2) examine the factors influencing CA adoption, paying attention to the role of social norms; and (3) examine the impact of agricultural co-operatives on smallholder farmers.
To achieve the first objective, the study develops a theoretical framework that incorporates the role of social norms in labour allocation. The study then empirically examines how social norms influence labour allocation and productivity through the estimation of a time allocation model and a production function model in which male and female labour are differentiated. To achieve the second objective, the study estimates a probit model to examine how social norms affect CA adoption. To attain the third objective, the study develops a theoretical model showing how a co-operative affects smallholder farmers in a modern agri-food supply chain.
With respect to labour allocation, the results show that women and men do different farm tasks, with men showing a preference in doing activities that use mechanical farm implements, such as controlling ox-drawn ploughs, while women assume manual tasks such as weeding or fertilizer application. Overall, women work more than men, particularly when they are under a female-headed household. These results suggest that social norms are at play.
Regarding the adoption of CA, the results show that farmers differentially adopt the three CA components. While most farmers adopted minimum disturbance, only a few adopted mulching. The results also show that farmers who consider social advice and require peer support to try new technologies are less likely to practice mulching. This suggest that mulching does not align with the local norms and values.
The results of the theoretical modeling of agricultural co-ops show that they can play an important role in serving smallholder farmers who would otherwise be excluded from the market. The existence of a co-op forces IOFs to pay higher prices than they otherwise would.
One of the findings of the thesis is that social norms are important in determining the future of smallholder agriculture in Africa. Altering social norms could result in a more efficient allocation of resources and improved adoption of technologies. However, given that social norms are difficult to change, it is important to develop interventions that align with the existing norms. One way of achieving this is to involve farmers when developing interventions to ensure that local norms and values are incorporated. For instance, to improve men’s participation, it is likely important to develop and promote technologies that rely on mechanized farm implements given that such technologies are attractive to men
The political economy of child labor
Full text linkConcerns about the welfare of working children have over time produced a wide range of international and national interventions in the child labor market, culminating most recently in a commitment to eradicate the worst forms of child work via the attainment of target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. While the literature on the causes and consequences of child labor is voluminous and well established, research that explores the political economy of such interventions is disproportionately scanter. This chapter puts the relatively less prolific literature on the political economy of child labor under conceptual and empirical scrutiny. It starts by looking briefly into the theoretical case for interventions into the child labor market and then verifies whether such interventions are justified in practice. It then presents two types of political economy explanations of potential mismatches between economic theory and practice, one in the domain of international interventions and a second one in the realm of national policy making. <br/
Confidence Intervals around the Difference between two Standardized Mean Differences
Full text linkCurrently, researchers rely on point estimates when calculating the difference between two standardized mean differences (also referred to as the difference between two Cohen’s ds). However, point estimates can result in inferential challenges; consequently, it is important that researchers also report an accompanying confidence interval (Wilkinson, 1999). Currently, no method exists for calculating the confidence interval for the difference between two standardized mean differences. In this paper I adapt Zou and Donner’s (2008) method and create a confidence interval for the difference between two standardized mean differences. I tested this new confidence interval using a Monte Carlo simulation by manipulating the population-level effect difference and the cell sizes. The newly created confidence interval successfully captured the population-level effect difference 95% of the time using both pivotal and non-pivotal values to generate confidence intervals, successfully supporting my hypotheses
The Impact on Structural Reforms on Employment Growth and Labour Productivity: Evidence from Bulgaria and Romania
Full text linkUsing firm-level data from Bulgaria and Romania, this paper addresses a lacuna in the transition literature, namely, the link of firm-level employment turnover with firm-level growth in labour productivity. The results suggest that while net job creation at the firm level was affected by privatization in Bulgaria, privatization in Romania did not have any effect on firm-level employment growth. Further, Olley-Pakes (1996) decomposition indicates that in Bulgaria, over time, resources moved from less productive firms to more productive firms in almost all industries, but that in Romania such a phenomenon was observed in less than half of the industries. At the same time, the Grilliches-Regev (1995) decomposition indicates that in both these countries mobility of labour across firms, i.e., the process of job creation and job destruction at the firm level, contributed more to productivity changes than did other firm-level characteristics and industry-level factors affecting productivity. Finally, we find that the rate of employment changes in Bulgarian firms has a significant impact on the country’s firm-level productivity changes. Regressions using Romania data, however, do not provide any support for this observation.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39986/2/wp600.pd
The political economy of child labor
Full text linkConcerns about the welfare of working children have over time produced a wide range of international and national interventions in the child labor market, culminating most recently in a commitment to eradicate the worst forms of child work via the attainment of target 8.7 of the Sustainable Development Goals. While the literature on the causes and consequences of child labor is voluminous and well established, research that explores the political economy of such interventions is disproportionately scanter. This chapter puts the relatively less prolific literature on the political economy of child labor under conceptual and empirical scrutiny. It starts by looking briefly into the theoretical case for interventions into the child labor market and then verifies whether such interventions are justified in practice. It then presents two types of political economy explanations of potential mismatches between economic theory and practice, one in the domain of international interventions and a second one in the realm of national policy making. <br/
The welfare impact of rising food prices
Full text linkDramatic food price spikes in recent years have stimulated debate on the welfare implications of food price risk. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the number of undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa rose to a record 265 million in 2009. There is a gradually developing policy consensus in favor of income redistribution to the poor in developing countries hit by the food price crisis. This recommendation makes sense when the poor are net food consumers, but it ignores the possibility that some poor people are net producers of food and so are likely to benefit from rising food prices
THREE ESSAYS ON THE ECONOMICS OF SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA: LABOUR ALLOCATION, ADOPTION OF CONSERVATION AGRICULTURE AND CO-OPERATIVE PARTICIPATION
Full text linkSmallholder farmers dominate agricultural production in many developing countries and produce a significant portion of the food that is consumed within those countries. Given their important contribution, there is strong consensus that improving productivity among smallholder farmers is one of the most effective ways of ensuring food security and alleviating poverty in developing countries. However, the means by which agricultural performance could be enhanced is not straight forward because smallholder farmers operate under complex environments and face multifaceted challenges, including declining soil fertility, the use of poor farming techniques, limited use of fertilizers, low technology adoption, gender disparities, and market failures.
This study contributes to improving our understanding of smallholder farmers by examining three of these challenges: labour allocation, technology adoption, and market selection. The specific goals of this study are to: (1) assess the influence of social norms on farm labour allocation and productivity; and (2) examine the factors influencing CA adoption, paying attention to the role of social norms; and (3) examine the impact of agricultural co-operatives on smallholder farmers.
To achieve the first objective, the study develops a theoretical framework that incorporates the role of social norms in labour allocation. The study then empirically examines how social norms influence labour allocation and productivity through the estimation of a time allocation model and a production function model in which male and female labour are differentiated. To achieve the second objective, the study estimates a probit model to examine how social norms affect CA adoption. To attain the third objective, the study develops a theoretical model showing how a co-operative affects smallholder farmers in a modern agri-food supply chain.
With respect to labour allocation, the results show that women and men do different farm tasks, with men showing a preference in doing activities that use mechanical farm implements, such as controlling ox-drawn ploughs, while women assume manual tasks such as weeding or fertilizer application. Overall, women work more than men, particularly when they are under a female-headed household. These results suggest that social norms are at play.
Regarding the adoption of CA, the results show that farmers differentially adopt the three CA components. While most farmers adopted minimum disturbance, only a few adopted mulching. The results also show that farmers who consider social advice and require peer support to try new technologies are less likely to practice mulching. This suggest that mulching does not align with the local norms and values.
The results of the theoretical modeling of agricultural co-ops show that they can play an important role in serving smallholder farmers who would otherwise be excluded from the market. The existence of a co-op forces IOFs to pay higher prices than they otherwise would.
One of the findings of the thesis is that social norms are important in determining the future of smallholder agriculture in Africa. Altering social norms could result in a more efficient allocation of resources and improved adoption of technologies. However, given that social norms are difficult to change, it is important to develop interventions that align with the existing norms. One way of achieving this is to involve farmers when developing interventions to ensure that local norms and values are incorporated. For instance, to improve men’s participation, it is likely important to develop and promote technologies that rely on mechanized farm implements given that such technologies are attractive to men
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