Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania

Research on technology adoption typically assumes that the preferences of a single individual—the household head—determine household‐level decisions. This study uses experimentally derived prospect theory‐based risk preferences from couples in Tanzania to test whether men's and women's risk preferen...

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Autores principales: Magnan, Nicholas, Love, Abby M., Mishili, Fulgence J., Sheremenko, Ganna
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: International Association of Agricultural Economists 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171291
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author Magnan, Nicholas
Love, Abby M.
Mishili, Fulgence J.
Sheremenko, Ganna
author_browse Love, Abby M.
Magnan, Nicholas
Mishili, Fulgence J.
Sheremenko, Ganna
author_facet Magnan, Nicholas
Love, Abby M.
Mishili, Fulgence J.
Sheremenko, Ganna
author_sort Magnan, Nicholas
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Research on technology adoption typically assumes that the preferences of a single individual—the household head—determine household‐level decisions. This study uses experimentally derived prospect theory‐based risk preferences from couples in Tanzania to test whether men's and women's risk preferences, which often diverge, influence the adoption of improved maize varieties. We find that women's risk aversion and men's loss aversion are negatively correlated with improved variety use. The tendency of men to overweight small probabilities is negatively associated with adoption, whereas the tendency of women to do so is positively associated. These findings suggest that technology adoption research should look beyond the preferences of the household head, and that technology promoters should consider targeting both men and women in their education and dissemination efforts.
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institution CGIAR Consortium
language Inglés
publishDate 2020
publishDateRange 2020
publishDateSort 2020
publisher International Association of Agricultural Economists
publisherStr International Association of Agricultural Economists
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spelling CGSpace1712912025-02-19T14:36:16Z Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania Magnan, Nicholas Love, Abby M. Mishili, Fulgence J. Sheremenko, Ganna gender agriculture risk technology households risk assessment risk management maize varieties Research on technology adoption typically assumes that the preferences of a single individual—the household head—determine household‐level decisions. This study uses experimentally derived prospect theory‐based risk preferences from couples in Tanzania to test whether men's and women's risk preferences, which often diverge, influence the adoption of improved maize varieties. We find that women's risk aversion and men's loss aversion are negatively correlated with improved variety use. The tendency of men to overweight small probabilities is negatively associated with adoption, whereas the tendency of women to do so is positively associated. These findings suggest that technology adoption research should look beyond the preferences of the household head, and that technology promoters should consider targeting both men and women in their education and dissemination efforts. 2020-09 2025-01-29T12:57:58Z 2025-01-29T12:57:58Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171291 en Limited Access International Association of Agricultural Economists Magnan, Nicholas; Love, Abby M.; Mishili, Fulgence J.; and Sheremenko, Ganna. 2020. Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania. Agricultural Economics 51(5): 743-758. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12589
spellingShingle gender
agriculture
risk
technology
households
risk assessment
risk management
maize
varieties
Magnan, Nicholas
Love, Abby M.
Mishili, Fulgence J.
Sheremenko, Ganna
Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title_full Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title_fullStr Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title_full_unstemmed Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title_short Husbands’ and wives’ risk preferences and improved maize adoption in Tanzania
title_sort husbands and wives risk preferences and improved maize adoption in tanzania
topic gender
agriculture
risk
technology
households
risk assessment
risk management
maize
varieties
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/171291
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AT sheremenkoganna husbandsandwivesriskpreferencesandimprovedmaizeadoptionintanzania