Better Technology, Better Plots, or Better Farmers? Identifying Changes in Productivity and Risk among Malagasy Rice Farmers
提出一种方法，通过控制农民和地块的异质性，将观察到的生产率和风险变化归因于新生产方法、农民和地块。以马达加斯加水稻强化栽培体系为例，发现该技术确实更优，但约一半的增产来自农民特征，且增产超84%，但风险增加可能使多数风险规避型农民不愿采用。
We introduce a method for properly attributing observed productivity and risk changes among new production methods, farmers, and plots by controlling for farmer and plot heterogeneity. Results from Madagascar show that the new system of rice intensification (SRI) is indeed a superior technology. Although about half of the observed productivity gains appear due to farmer characteristics rather than SRI itself, the technology generates the estimated average output gains of more than 84%. The increased estimated yield risk associated with SRI would nonetheless make it unattractive to many farmers within the standard range of relative risk aversion.