Download or read book The role of learning in technology adoption Evidence on hybrid rice adoption in Bihar India written by Gars, Jared and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2016-12-22 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Much empirical research has shown that individuals’ decisions to adopt a new technology are the result of learning–both through personal experimentation through observing the experimentation of others. Yet even casual observation would suggest significant heterogeneity of learning processes, manifesting itself in widely varying patterns of adoption over space and time. This paper explores this heterogeneity in the context of early adoption of hybrid rice in rural India. Using specially designed experiments conducted as part of a primary survey in the field, we identify which of four broad learning heuristics most accurately reflects individuals’ information processing strategies. Linking these learning heuristics with observed use of rice hybrids, we demonstrate that pure Bayesian learning is well suited for the tinkering and marginal adjustments that are required to learn about a technology like hybrid rice, but it is also more cognitively taxing than other learning styles requiring a longer memory and more complex updating processes. Consequently, only about 25 percent of the farmers in our sample can be characterized as pure Bayesian learners. Present-biased learning and relying on first impressions will likely hinder adoption of a technology like hybrid rice, even after controlling for access to credit and a rudimentary proxy for intelligence.
Download or read book The Microeconomics of Technological Systems written by Cristiano Antonelli and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2001 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Antonelli illustrates his argument by reference to technological systems and complementarities, irreversibility, and collective knowledge; by examining the role of learning and technological communication as key factors in defining the rate and direction of change within technological systems; and by identifying technological districts and clusters within a theoretical framework which values local externalities, irreversibility, and endogenous structural change."
Download or read book Innovation in Firms A Microeconomic Perspective written by OECD and published by OECD Publishing. This book was released on 2009-12-14 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents the main results of the OECD Innovation Microdata Project -- the first large-scale effort to exploit firm-level data from innovation surveys across 20 countries in an internationally harmonised way, with a view to addressing common analytical questions.
Download or read book The Economics of Information Technology written by Hal R. Varian and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2004-12-23 with total page 114 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Economics of Information Technology is a concise and accessible review of some of the important economic factors affecting information technology industries. These industries are characterized by high fixed costs and low marginal costs of production, large switching costs for users, and strong network effects. These factors combine to produce some unique behavior. The book consists of two parts. In the first part, Professor Varian outlines the basic economics of these industries. In the second part, Professors Farrell and Shapiro describe the impact of these factors on competition policy. The clarity of the analysis and exposition makes this an ideal introduction for undergraduate and graduate students in economics, business strategy, law and related areas.
Download or read book Bridging the Technological Divide written by Xavier Cirera and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2022-07-22 with total page 279 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of the main problems facing developing countries today and tomorrow--growth, poverty reduction, inequality, food insecurity, job creation, recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and adjustment to climate change--hinge on adopting better technology, a key driver of economic development. Access to technology is not enough: firms have to adopt it. Yet it is precisely the uptake of technology that is lagging in many firms in developing countries. Bridging the Technological Divide: Technology Adoption by Firms in Developing Countries helps open the “black box†? of technology adoption by firms. The seventh volume in the World Bank Productivity Project series, it will further both research and policy that can be used to support technology adoption by firms in developing countries.
Download or read book The Economics of Risk written by Donald J. Meyer and published by W.E. Upjohn Institute. This book was released on 2003 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Annotation This book contains a collection of papers that address various aspects of risk, including riskmanagement and how it is applied to decisionmaking and the impact of risk on markets
Download or read book A Comprehensive Assessment of the Role of Risk in U S Agriculture written by Richard E. Just and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 580 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After all the research on agricultural risk to date, the treatment of risk in agricultural research is far from harmonious. Many competing risk models have been proposed. Some new methodologies are largely untested. Some of the leading empirical methodologies in agricultural economic research are poorly suited for problems with aggregate data where risk averse behavior is less likely to be important. This book is intended to (i) define the current state of the literature on agricultural risk research, (ii) provide a critical evaluation of economic risk research on agriculture to date and (iii) set a research agenda that will meet future needs and prospects. This type of research promises to become of increasing importance because agricultural policy in the United States and elsewhere has decidedly shifted from explicit income support objectives to risk-related motivations of helping farmers deal with risk. Beginning with the 1996 Farm Bill, the primary set of policy instruments from U.S. agriculture has shifted from target prices and set aside acreage to agricultural crop insurance. Because this book is intended to have specific implications for U.S. agricultural policy, it has a decidedly domestic scope, but clearly many of the issues have application abroad. For each of the papers and topics included in this volume, individuals have been selected to give the strongest and broadest possible treatment of each facet of the problem. The result is this comprehensive reference book on the economics of agricultural risk.
Download or read book Technological and Institutional Innovations for Marginalized Smallholders in Agricultural Development written by Franz W. Gatzweiler and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-02-19 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The aim of the book is to present contributions in theory, policy and practice to the science and policy of sustainable intensification by means of technological and institutional innovations in agriculture. The research insights re from Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The purpose of this book is to be a reference for students, scholars and practitioners inthe field of science and policy for understanding and identifying agricultural productivity growth potentials in marginalized areas.
Download or read book The Dynamics of Technology written by G. Barbiroli and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-03-14 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Technology is taking on an increasingly central and determining role in so ciety, and can provide contradictory results: wealth on the one hand, but also unemployment, environmental imbalances and other social problems on the other. Manufacturing techniques and production organization are chosen in every country based mainly on the specific needs of the companies, while the real needs of each population are often quite different. Already, in order to prevent all forms of technology from becoming in creasingly "invasive", towards both the natural supply of resources and the specific - though highly differentiated - needs of humanity, technological paths must be identified and followed which are capable of making the vari ous needs compatible, from the standpoint of sustainable development, the conservation and increase in value of natural resources, and the quality of development. This will become increasingly important in the future. This goal is undoubtedly ambitious and difficult to achieve; however, evi dence of the problems caused by generalized, uncontrolled use of technolo gy, all over the world, leads us to believe that intense efforts must be made to achieve this aim. If not, humankind runs the risk of an irreversible degra dation of the most important aspects of economic development and its quali ty. Within this framework, those companies that produce goods and services obviously occupy a central, active role, which they must play with a view both to competitiveness and overall qualification and to contributing to the objectives of sustainable development.
Download or read book Handbook of Research on Institution Development for Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa written by Osabuohien, Evans S. and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2020-12-04 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African countries are pursuing a number of development agendas toward achieving economic growth that is inclusive, pro-poor, and sustainable, particularly the type that can unleash the potential of women and booming youthful populations. However, available evidence shows that many African countries have experienced economic hardships and have performed more poorly than other developing and emerging countries in the global south. The Handbook of Research on Institution Development for Sustainable and Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa is an essential research publication that provides comprehensive research on the processes of building viable institutions in Africa that will serve as the fulcrum for utilizing and managing resources as well as promoting economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable. Featuring topics such as climate change, financial development, and poverty, this book is ideal for researchers, policymakers, developers, economic professionals, academicians, government officials, business professionals, and students.
Download or read book Demand and supply side factors for accelerating varietal turnover An evidence from soybean in India written by Nuthalapati, Chandra Sekhara Rao and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2020-04-03 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Soybeans were promoted on a large scale in India in order to augment farmers’ incomes in poverty-stricken areas and to combat dietary protein deficiencies. Soybean cultivation in India is a unique success story, having expanded in area from zero in 1970 to 11.5 million hectares by the first decade of this millennium At this juncture, the major concern of policymakers is to sustain cultivation of soybeans by ensuring reasonable growth in yield and farm incomes in the face of competitive yield improvements in comparable crops such as corn. This paper tries to understand the varietal adoption patterns and the stages of diffusion of existing varieties. It uses a large primary data set of 1,410 farm households in central and western India to unravel the underlying pathways for accelerating varietal turnover. It employs a dynamic framework by harnessing duration analysis. The average age of the adopted varieties is 8.4 years, which is relatively high and implies slower varietal turnover. Survival functions show that adoption of the leading varieties has reached the saturation stage and that policy intervention at this point can thus have a rapid impact in terms of varietal replacement. The analysis of rate of change of varietal replacement through hazard functions throws up interesting conclusions that are relevant to the formulation of new policies. Examination of all three conceptualized pathways—farm characteristics, sources of information, and perceived traits of the varieties and of genetic improvements—suggest the need for substitution of existing varieties with new improved varieties. While the drivers of varietal change do not vary with size of farm, regional differences are relevant. This paper discusses the potential impact of policy on production and income.
Download or read book Targeting Technology to Reduce Poverty and Conserve Resources written by Travis J. Lybbert and published by Intl Food Policy Res Inst. This book was released on 2013-07-02 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Demand heterogeneity often makes it profitable for firms to price and promote goods and services differently in different market segments. When private consumption brings public benefits, this same heterogeneity can be used to target public subsidies. We explore the design of publicprivate targeting and segmentation strategies in the case of a resource-conserving agricultural technology in India. To understand farmers heterogeneous demand for laser land leveling (LLL), we conducted an experimental auction for LLL services with an integrated randomized controlled trial to estimate the private benefits of the technology. We use graphical and econometric approaches to characterize farmer demand for LLL. We then add detailed cost data from LLL providers to simulate and evaluate several potential targeted delivery strategies based on measures of (1) the cost-effectiveness of expanding LLL dissemination, (2) water savings, and (3) market surplus in a welfare framework. These simulations demonstrate inherent tradeoffs between increasing the amount of land that is leveled and expanding the number of farmers who adopt the technology, and between adoption and water savings. While segmenting and targeting are popular elements of many publicprivate partnerships to develop and disseminate agricultural technologies, formulating and implementing effective delivery strategies requires a rich understanding of costs, benefits, and demand. Our experimental approach generates such an understanding and may be relevant in other contexts.
Download or read book Microeconomics Competition and Strategic Behaviour written by Markus Thomas Münter and published by UTB. This book was released on 2022-09-05 with total page 421 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Microeconomics is not applied math – frameworks in this book are regularly in use in daily managerial practice and strategic decision-making. Numerous case studies cover price discrimination, economies of scale, digital business models, game theory, dealing with uncertainty, entry barriers or sunk costs – all of which are crucial for understanding market dynamics and competitive behaviour.
Download or read book Learning by Doing written by James Bessen and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2015-04-28 with total page 310 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Bessen sets out to refute the arguments of . . . techno-pessimists, relying on economic analysis and on a fresh reading of history” (The Wall Street Journal). Technology is constantly changing our world, leading to more efficient production. But where once technological advancements dramatically increased wages, the median wage has remained stagnant over the past three decades. Many of today’s machines have taken over the work of humans, destroying old jobs while increasing profits for business owners and raising the possibility of ever-widening economic inequality. Here, economist and software company founder James Bessen discusses why these remarkable advances have, so far, benefited only a select few. He argues the need for unique policies to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to implement rapidly evolving technologies. Currently, this technical knowledge is mostly unstandardized and difficult to acquire, learned through job experience rather than in classrooms, but labor markets rarely provide strong incentives for learning on the job. Basing his analysis on intensive research into economic history as well as today’s labor markets, Bessen explores why the benefits of technology can take decades to emerge. Although the right policies can hasten the process, policy has moved in the wrong direction, protecting politically influential interests to the detriment of emerging technologies and broadly shared prosperity. This is a thoughtful look at what leaders need to do to ensure success not only for the next quarter, but for society in the long term. “Everyone agrees that education is the key to wage growth. But what kind of education? . . . This enlightening and insightful book . . . shows that economic history can provide some useful and surprising answers.” —Hal Varian, chief economist at Google
Download or read book Handbook of Economic Growth written by Philippe Aghion and published by Newnes. This book was released on 2013-12-20 with total page 1172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volumes 2A and 2B of The Handbook of Economic Growth summarize recent advances in theoretical and empirical work while offering new perspectives on a range of growth mechanisms, from the roles played by institutions and organizations to the ways factors beyond capital accumulation and technological change can affect growth. Written by research leaders, the chapters summarize and evaluate recent advances while explaining where further research might be profitable. With analyses that are provocative and controversial because they are so directly relevant to public policy and private decision-making, these two volumes uphold the standard for excellence in applied economics set by Volumes 1A and 1B (2005). - Offers definitive theoretical and empirical scholarship about growth economics - Empowers readers to evaluate the work of other economists and to plan their own research projects - Demonstrates the value of empirical testing, with its implicit conclusion that our understanding of economic growth will help everyone make better decisions
Download or read book Development Economics written by Alain de Janvry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-12-22 with total page 859 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Development Economics: Theory and Practice provides students and practitioners with the perspectives and the tools they need to think analytically and critically about the current major economic development issues in the world. Alain de Janvry and Elisabeth Sadoulet identify seven key dimensions of development; growth, poverty, vulnerability, inequality, basic needs, sustainability, and quality of life, and use them to structure the contents of the text. This book gives a historical perspective on the evolution of thought in development. It uses theory and empirical analysis to present readers with a full picture of how development works, how its successes and failures can be assessed, and how alternatives can be introduced. The authors demonstrate how diagnostics, design of programs and policies, and impact evaluation can be used to seek new solutions to the suffering and violence caused by development failures. This text is fully engaged with the most cutting edge research in the field, and equips readers with analytical tools for the impact evaluation of development programs and policies, illustrated with numerous examples. It is underpinned throughout by a wealth of student-friendly features including case studies, quantitative problem sets, end-of-chapter questions, and extensive references. This unique text aims at helping readers learn about development, think analytically about achievements and alternative options, and be prepared to compete on the development job market.
Download or read book Sustainable ICT Adoption and Integration for Socio Economic Development written by Ayo, Charles K. and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2017-03-10 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is becoming known that information and communications technology has the potential to increase development in the areas of health, education, governance, and business in impoverished countries. Thus, new levels of integration and applications must be studied in order to expand this research area further. Sustainable ICT Adoption and Integration for Socio-Economic Development is a pivotal publication featuring the latest scholarly research on current updates regarding adoption, integration, and application of communication devices and applications across the various aspects of human progression. Highlighting a number of topics and perspectives such as inclusive education, e-governance, and e-democracy, this book is ideally designed for researchers, government officials, and academicians seeking current information on the application of new technological tools for both social and economic growth in various countries.
