Publication: A Review of Behavioral Risk Research with Special Application to Developing Countries
Loading...
Files in English
242 downloads
Date
2008
ISSN
Published
2008
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Experimental economics grew out of a desire to produce more powerful tests of decision-making processes, as well as employ a more constructive methodology for generating new behavioral models. This paper studies the behavior regularities of individuals facing decisions involving risk or uncertainty, paying particular attention to the potential applications for production and policy behavior in developing countries. Risk is widely acknowledged as a defining problem of agrarian behavior. This overview provides a deeper understanding of the costs and impacts resulting from that risk.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Just, David R.. 2008. A Review of Behavioral Risk Research with Special Application to Developing Countries. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/9036 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Managing Migration from the Traditional to Modern Sector in Developing Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008)This paper models the process of migration from a traditional to a modern sector. Migrants from the traditional sector experience a period of unemployment before finding modern sector jobs. Because of congestion in the process that matches the unemployed with jobs, an increase in the amount of unemployment increases the expected duration of unemployment for the representative migrant. Skilled workers can provide education and other services that decrease the expected duration of unemployment, but the competitive market under-provides these services. Congestion in the search process and the under-provision of migration services are market failures, requiring two types of government policies.Publication Agricultural Biotechnology : Transgenics in Agriculture and their Implications for Developing Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008)Technological innovation in agriculture can bring enormous benefits to the poor. High-yielding varieties of staple food crops have improved agricultural productivity, raised incomes, and reduced food prices. Innovations in plant breeding research based on advances in genetics that make it possible to manipulate plant DNA. Referred to as 'biotechnology,' its use in agriculture is controversial, particularly with regard to the development and use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), also known as transgenics. Some believe that transgenics offer great potential for meeting the challenges of feeding the hungry and improving incomes while others are convinced that transgenics will unleash environmental catastrophes, worsen poverty and hunger, and place traditional agriculture and the global food supply at the mercy of corporate interests. This paper synthesizes the research on transgenics and discusses the implications of public sector support for it as a poverty reduction tool.Publication Small Farmers in Developing Countries : Some Results of Household Surveys Data Analysis(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-11)Using data obtained from Living Standards Measurement Surveys of rural households, the socioeconomic trends in rural households is defined for a limited set of countries in the 90's and 2000's. These trends are studied in light of seven categories of rural economies: self-employed agriculture, employer agriculture (land owners), employee agriculture, self-employed not agriculture; employer not agriculture, employee not agriculture, not in the labor force. Relative differences in income, consumption and poverty are documented.Publication Agri-Processing and Developing Countries(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2006-11)The importance of the agri-processing sector for developing countries is assessed in the light of two distinct trends. First, processed products now predominate global food trade, which is the case for both developing country exports and imports. Second, there has been significant change in the composition of food exports from developing countries, with "non-traditional exports" leading the way. These exports provide new opportunities for development strategies, though least developed countries have shifted from being net food exporters to net importers predominantly of processed products. This report presents a statistical profile of the food-processing sector in developing countries. Common to most analyses is the identification of new patterns of coordinating food supply chains in response to higher and differentiated quality and health standards and more complex logistical requirements. Also discussed are the policy implications if the food-processing sector of developing countries is to become a strategic lever for dynamic growth.Publication Income Distribution and the Allocation of Public Agricultural Investment in Developing Countries(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2008)Public investment in infrastructure or education can increase agricultural productivity, leading to higher rural wages and higher returns to farmers. These investments also induce the reallocation of factors of production. This paper, which studies both the traditional and modern agricultural sector, finds that investment increases productivity in the sector where it is made, and it can also affect the other sector via adjustments of factors of production.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication World Development Report 1994(New York: Oxford University Press, 1994)World Development Report 1994, the seventeenth in this annual series, examines the link between infrastructure and development and explores ways in which developing countries can improve both the provision and the quality of infrastructure services. In recent decades, developing countries have made substantial investments in infrastructure, achieving dramatic gains for households and producers by expanding their access to services such as safe water, sanitation, electric power, telecommunications, and transport. Even more infrastructure investment and expansion are needed in order to extend the reach of services - especially to people living in rural areas and to the poor. But as this report shows, the quantity of investment cannot be the exclusive focus of policy. Improving the quality of infrastructure service also is vital. Both quantity and quality improvements are essential to modernize and diversify production, help countries compete internationally, and accommodate rapid urbanization. The report identifies the basic cause of poor past performance as inadequate institutional incentives for improving the provision of infrastructure. To promote more efficient and responsive service delivery, incentives need to be changed through commercial management, competition, and user involvement. Several trends are helping to improve the performance of infrastructure. First, innovation in technology and in the regulatory management of markets makes more diversity possible in the supply of services. Second, an evaluation of the role of government is leading to a shift from direct government provision of services to increasing private sector provision and recent experience in many countries with public-private partnerships is highlighting new ways to increase efficiency and expand services. Third, increased concern about social and environmental sustainability has heightened public interest in infrastructure design and performance. This report includes the World Development Indicators, which offer selected social and economic statistics for 132 countries.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication Global Economic Prospects, June 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-06-11)After several years of negative shocks, global growth is expected to hold steady in 2024 and then edge up in the next couple of years, in part aided by cautious monetary policy easing as inflation gradually declines. However, economic prospects are envisaged to remain tepid, especially in the most vulnerable countries. Risks to the outlook, while more balanced, are still tilted to the downside, including the possibility of escalating geopolitical tensions, further trade fragmentation, and higher-for-longer interest rates. Natural disasters related to climate change could also hinder activity. Subdued growth prospects across many emerging market and developing economies and continued risks underscore the need for decisive policy action at the global and national levels. Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.Publication Sourcebook on the Foundations of Social Protection Delivery Systems(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2020-07-30)The Sourcebook synthesizes real-world experiences and lessons learned of social protection delivery systems from around the world, with a particular focus on social and labor benefits and services. It takes a practical approach, seeking to address concrete “how-to” questions, including: How do countries deliver social protection benefits and services? How do they do so effectively and efficiently? How do they ensure dynamic inclusion, especially for the most vulnerable and needy? How do they promote better coordination and integration—not only among social protection programs but also programs in other parts of government? How can they meet the needs of their intended populations and provide a better client experience? The Sourcebook structures itself around eight key principles that can frame the delivery systems mindset: (1) delivery systems evolve over time, do so in a non-linear fashion, and are affected by the starting point(s); (2) additional efforts should be made to “do simple well”, and to do so from the start rather than trying to remedy by after-the-fact adding-on of features or aspects; (3) quality implementation matters, and weaknesses in the design or structure of any core system element will negatively impact delivery; (4) defining the “first mile” for people interface greatly affects the system and overall delivery, and is most improved when that “first mile” is understood as the weakest link in delivery systems); (5) delivery systems do not operate in a vacuum and thus should not be developed in silos; (6) delivery systems can contribute more broadly to government’s ability to intervene in other sectors, such as health insurance subsidies, scholarships, social energy tariffs, housing benefits, and legal services; (7) there is no single blueprint for delivery systems, but there are commonalities and those common elements constitute the core of the delivery systems framework; (8) inclusion and coordination are pervasive and perennial dual challenges, and they contribute to the objectives of effectiveness and efficiency.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.