a b s t r a c tArtifactual field experiments, spatial econometrics, and household surveys are combined in a single study to investigate the neighborhood effects of social behaviors. The dictator and public goods games are conducted among rice farmers in irrigated and non-irrigated areas in the Philippines. We find the neighborhood effects but the magnitude and statistical significance of endogenous social effects vary with the irrigation availability, type of social behavior, and type of neighborhood. Altruistic and cooperative behaviors are significantly influenced by the behaviors of neighbors only in the irrigated area, where social ties are strengthened through collective irrigation management. Through this effect, irrigated farmers' social behaviors become similar to those of one another. Neighborhood effects for cooperative behavior are stronger among farm plot neighbors than among residential neighbors, which may reflect their interactions in irrigation management. Although nondynamic, these findings are consistent with the theory of social norm evolution through common pool resource management.
In a canonical model of collective action, individual contribution to collective action is negatively correlated with group size. Yet, empirical evidence on the group size effect has been mixed, partly due to heterogeneities in group activities. In this paper, we first construct a simple model of collective action with the free rider problem, altruism, public goods, and positive externalities of social networks. We then empirically test the theoretical implications of the group size effect on individual contribution to four different types of collective action, i.e., monetary or nonmonetary contribution to directly or indirectly productive activities. To achieve this, we collect and employ artefactual field experimental data such as public goods and dictator games conducted in southern Sri Lanka under a natural experimental situation where the majority of farmers were relocated to randomly selected communities based on the government lottery. This unique situation enables us to identify the causal effects of community size on collective action. We find that the levels of collective action can be explained by the social preferences of farmers. We also show evidence of free riding by self-interested households with no landholdings. The pattern of collective action, however, differs significantly by mode of activity—collective action that is directly rather than indirectly related to production is less likely to suffer from the free rider problem. Also, monetary contribution is less likely to cause free riding than nonmonetary labor contribution. Unlike labor contributions, monetary contributions involve collection of fees which can be easily tracked and verified, possibly leading to better enforcement of collective action.
Disability-inclusive development is receiving growing attention as a pressing international development issue. Disability-inclusive development is especially urgent and complicated in post-conflict countries. This paper examines the impacts of vocational training on economic empowerment and social reintegration among demobilized ex-combatants with disabilities in Rwanda. This is the first quasi-experimental study on vocational training for disabled excombatants. Exploiting the variation in the timing of training uptake within the same training course, we employ a pipeline approach in the following three steps: (1) trimming to guarantee common support within courses, (2) exact matching on key covariates within courses, and (3) regression controlling for covariates within courses based on the matched sample. The results show that the training greatly increased not only employment and income, but also trainees' reintegration into the family and community. The results are robust to potential omitted variable bias and attrition bias according to a coefficient stability test and bound analysis, respectively. Our findings suggest a significant potential of vocational training for disabled ex-combatants in disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration programs. Our study exemplifies the utility of a credibly designed pipeline approach, which can be applied in a wide range of development projects in practice.
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