Do Sustainability Standards Benefit Smallholder Farmers Also When Accounting For Cooperative Effects? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire
通过随机抽取大量合作社的科特迪瓦可可农户数据，研究发现公平贸易认证对产量、价格和生活水平有显著正向影响，且控制合作社特征后效应仍显著，但估计值大小变化，表明评估可持续标准时需考虑合作社效应。
Although many studies analyzed effects of sustainability standards—such as Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance—on smallholder farmers in developing countries, most did not sufficiently account for systematic differences between certified and noncertified farmers. Certified farmers are typically organized in cooperatives. When sampling only from a small number of cooperatives, as previous studies did, it is not easy to disentangle certification effects from possible cooperative effects. Here, we address this shortcoming by randomly sampling from a large number of cooperatives, thus better capturing existing institutional heterogeneity. In particular, we collect and use data from cocoa farmers in Côte d'Ivoire who are organized in Fairtrade‐certified and noncertified cooperatives. Regression models with instrumental variables show that Fairtrade has positive and significant effects on cocoa yields, prices, and living standards. These effects remain significant also after controlling for cooperative characteristics, but the magnitude of the estimates changes. We draw two conclusions. First, in Côte d'Ivoire, Fairtrade certification benefits farmers economically. Second, and more generally, cooperative characteristics are jointly correlated with certification and relevant outcomes, which needs to be accounted for to avoid bias when evaluating the benefits of sustainability standards in the small farm sector.