Date of Award
11-15-2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
This dissertation comprises three chapters in Development Economics, focusing on technology adoption and market linkages for smallholder farmers, and the impact of climate shocks on agricultural supply chains in Pakistan. Chapter 1 introduces a field experiment with potato farmers in Pakistan to assess how a new technology influences harvest returns. This study, titled Technology Adoption in Agriculture: Connecting Farmers to Markets in Pakistan, employs a randomized control trial (RCT) to test the effects of dynamic price information and direct market linkages on farmers’ economic outcomes. We introduced a technology that provided real-time price information and facilitated direct connections with wholesale markets. In a variation, we also shared the farmers’ information with buyers to observe any shifts in bargaining power at harvest. We hypothesize that farmers receiving price information and market linkages will secure higher prices due to improved bargaining power and better knowledge of their crop’s value. Conversely, when buyers receive farmers’ information, the impact may be mixed: while improved matching may benefit farmers, increased buyer leverage could dampen returns. Chapter 2 details the data collection, variable construction, estimation methods, and empirical results from the RCT in Chapter 1. Using survey data from multiple rounds, we find that farmers who received price information and linkages achieved higher harvest returns and shifted some harvest costs to buyers, often by switching buyers more frequently. However, those whose information was shared with buyers did not realize similar gains, indicating a shift in bargaining power favoring buyers. These findings suggest that while direct price interventions yield benefits, further gains might emerge from interventions at earlier cultivation stages, over multiple seasons, or with additional buyer information. This points to future research avenues to improve smallholder outcomes. Chapter 3, titled Vulnerable Markets: Impact of Extreme Flooding on Agriculture Supply Networks in Punjab, Pakistan, examines the 2022 floods’ impact on agricultural supply chains in Punjab, Pakistan. We utilize high-frequency supply chain data and spatial remote-sensing data from February to December 2022 to estimate the effect using an event study design. We document significant anticipatory supply increases of 35% before the floods, followed by a post-event supply reduction of up to 34%. Our results reveal heterogeneity across crop types and district sizes: vegetables show high vulnerability, while grains appear to benefit from state interventions. Analyzing optimal road networks, we find that road flooding did not significantly disrupt supply routes. We also create a spatial flood risk profile for Pakistan, showing that anticipatory effects and faster recoveries are more pronounced in high-risk regions. This chapter contributes new policy-relevant insights
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Brian Rogers
Committee Members
Marcus Berliant; Deniz Aydin; John Nachbar; Sanghmitra Gautam
Recommended Citation
Gondal, Omar Hayat, "Essays in Development Economics" (2024). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3378.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3378