Gender, Information and the Efficiency of Household Production Decisions: An Experiment in Rural Togo

Abstract

Why do farm households inefficiently allocate resources across the plots they cultivate? We explore how these production inefficiencies relate to consumption decisions and information sharing within the household. In a lab-in-the-field experiment, male producers allocate too few inputs to their wife's plot, failing to maximize household aggregate profits. They do transfer more inputs when the returns from that plot are higher. Experimental manipulation of information on these returns triggers heterogenous responses across households. We provide a theoretical framework that rationalizes these findings and further leads to sharp predictions. Joint contribution to a household public good compels spouses to make efficient production decisions. Only households who are in a separate-sphere regime experience inefficiency in farm production and are unable to effectively communicate on returns to avoid extra losses. Consistent with this framework, when we experimentally offer an ex post information verification mechanism, additional losses due to information asymmetries are prevented.

Father of the bride, or steel magnolias? Targeting men, women or both to reduce child marriage

“…However, subsequent empirical work finds that information asymmetry between spouses may explain household outcomes (e.g., Ashraf et al (2014)). An emerging literature studies intra-household information flows and spillovers (Apedo-Amah et al, 2020;Ashraf et al, 2020b;Conlon et al, 2021). We contribute to this literature by providing novel evidence that men and women in the household appear to update information and beliefs on different domains when provided with the same information; and that there may be subsequent intra-household spillovers, which are not symmetrical.…”

Can information constraints explain the low efficiency in premium quality rice cultivation? Evidence from smallholder farmers in Bangladesh

“…For instance, studies analyse inefficiencies in allocation of resources between individual and communal plots, or fields owned by different households members in sub-Saharan Africa (Guirkinger et al, 2015). As it is difficult to determine from observational data to what extent inefficiencies are due to rational behaviour, this literature draws also on field experiments that allow researchers to eliminate constraints common in real-world decisions and to compare between experimental and observational data (Apedo-Amah et al, 2020;Hoel et al, 2017). 4 In Bangladesh, poverty is still widespread in rural areas with a poverty headcount of 26.7% versus 19.3% in urban areas in 2016 World Bank, 2019.…”