An Evidence-Based Study of the Innovative Anti-Poverty Practices and Market Institution (Interim Report)
調査研究報告書
Edited by TAKAHASHI Kazushi
2014年3月発行
Preface (139KB)
Chapter 1
On the Welfare Impact of Solar Lantern in Northern Bangladesh: A Progress Report (345KB) / Yuya Kudo, Abu Shonchoy, Kazushi Takahashi
This progress report explains the motivation behind a newly launched research project on the impacts of solar lantern provision in northern Bangladesh, its sampling strategy, experimental design and summary statistics.
Chapter 2
Toward a Better Understanding of the Rice Market in Madagascar: Preliminary Analysis with the Threshold Autoregression (TAR) Model (910KB) / Yutaka Arimoto, Hisaki Kono, Takeshi Sakurai, Kazushi Takahashi
Using the weekly price data from 2007 to 2013, this paper examines whether rice markets in Madagascar are well integrated spatially. It finds that the price adjustment of Ambatorazaka and Anjozorobe with Antananarivo, the capital city of the country, is not quick even though they are located near to Antananarivo. Remoteness does not explain this phenomenon and further analysis is clearly needed.
Chapter 3
Understanding traders’ regional arbitrage: The case of rice traders in Antananarivo, Madagascar (587KB) / Yutaka Arimoto, Hisaki Kono, Takeshi Sakurai, Kazushi Takahashi
This paper reports facts about arbitrage of rice traders in Antananarivo, Madagascar. First, even in the same period, for the same variety, some traders are purchasing from districts with higher prices when some others are purchasing with lower price in different district, indicating scope for better arbitrage. Second, although the cheapest district changes over time, most of the traders specialize in trading in few, limited, popular districts, which are not always the cheapest district. Third, consequently, traders often fail to purchase from the cheapest district and therefore are paying substantially higher prices than the cheapest price. Fourth, traders do not search price in other districts extensively, and their knowledge on price is concentrated in very few districts. Fifth, our randomized controlled trial intervention to provide regional price information via SMS had no effect on purchasing behavior, arbitrage efficiency, or quantity, price, and margin of purchase.
Chapter 4
Characterization of Rice Market in Madagascar: Focusing on Price and Quality Relationship (460KB) / Takeshi Sakurai, Yutaka Arimoto
Chapter 5
How Does Contract Design Affect the Uptake of Microcredit among the Ultrapoor? Experimental Evidence from River Islands of Northern Bangladesh (400KB) / Kazushi Takahashi, Abu Shonchoy, Seiro Ito, Takashi Kurosaki
Despite the professed claims of microcredit for poverty alleviation, little is known about what kind of credit contract is suitable for extremely poor households or the ultrapoor. To fulfil this knowledge gap, we initiated a field experiment in river islands of northern Bangladesh, where a substantial portion of dwellers belong to the ultrapoor due to cyclic floods. We randomly offered four types of loans to such dwellers: regular small loans in cash with one-year maturity, large cash loans with three-year maturity with and without a one year grace period, and in-kind livestock loans with three-year maturity with a one year grace period. We compared their uptake rates as well as the determinants of uptake and found that the uptake rate is lowest in the regular contract, followed by the in-kind contract. Contrary to prior belief, we also found that the microcredit demand of the ultrapoor is not necessarily small and in particular the ultrapoor are significantly more likely to join the program if a grace period with longer maturity is attached with a relatively large amount of credit, irrespective of whether the credit is provided in cash or kind. This paper provides evidence that a typical microcredit with one-year maturity without a grace period is not attractive for the ultrapoor. Microfinance institutions may need to think of longer maturity loans with convenient grace periods, without compromising the loan repayment schedules, to fulfill the need of the ultrapoor.
Chapter 6
Unpacking Factors behind the (Low) Uptake of Index-Based Insurance: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Livestock Insurance in Southern Ethiopia / Kazushi Takahashi, Munenobu Ikegami, Megan Sheahan, Christopher B. Barrett