Katleen Van den Broeck

Information Flows and Social Externalities in a Tanzanian Banana Growing Village

Abstract This article analyses the role of social networks as facilitators of information flows and banana output increase. Based on a village census, full information is available on the socio-economic characteristics and banana production of farmers kinship group members, neighbours and informal insurance group members. The census data enable us to use individual specific reference groups and include exogenous group controls to tackle standard difficulties related to identification and omitted variables bias when analysing social effects. For the survey village of Nyakatoke in Tanzania the results suggest that information flows exist within all types of groups analysed but output externalities are limited to kinship groups. Using networks may offer scope for effective information flows on agricultural techniques, but our evidence suggests that not just any local network will have a social externality impact, requiring a clear understanding of local social networks for maximum impact.

Property Rights and Productivity: The Case of Joint Land Titling in Vietnam

This paper explores the effect of land titling on agricultural productivity in Vietnam and the productivity effects of single versus joint titling for husband and wife. Using a plot-fixed-effects approach our results show that obtaining a land title is associated with higher yields, for both individually and jointly held titles. We conclude that there is no tradeoff between joint titling and productivity, and so joint titles are potentially an effective way to improve women’s bargaining power within the household with no associated efficiency losses. (JEL O12, O13)

Growth, Employment and Poverty in Mozambique

The paper explores the dynamics of the relationship between economic growth, employment and poverty and estimates the effect of employment outcomes on household welfare and nationwide poverty reduction in post-war Mozambique (1992 onwards). The approach of the study combines recent macro-economic analysis with a detailed assessment of the only two nationally representative household surveys (1996-97 and 2002-03) undertaken in Mozambique hitherto.

The Forgotten Property Rights: Restrictions on Land Use in Vietnam

Studies of land property rights usually focus on tenure security and transfer rights. Rights to determine how to use the land are regularly ignored. However, in transition economies such as Vietnam and China, user rights are often limited. Relying on a unique Vietnamese panel data set at both household and plot level, we show that crop choice restrictions are widespread and prevent crop diversification. Restrictions do not decrease household income, but restricted households work harder, and there are indications that they are supplied with higher quality inputs. Our findings are consistent with the view that the Vietnamese government has managed to intervene effectively in agricultural (rice) production to promote output and food security. At the same time, it is now time to carefully consider the potential benefits of a more diversified crop pattern.

Social Capital, Network Effects and Savings in Rural Vietnam

Information failures are a major barrier to formal financial saving in low-income countries. We explore the extent to which social capital in rural Vietnam plays a role in increasing formal savings where knowledge gaps exist. Social capital is defined as information sharing and the elimination of information asymmetries through active participation in the Womens Union. We consider high- and low-quality networks in terms of the quality of information transmitted. We find that membership of high-quality networks leads to higher levels of saving in formal financial institutions and saving for productive investments. Our results support a role for social capital in facilitating savings and suggest that transmitting financial information through the branches of the Womens Union could be effective in increasing formal savings at grassroots level. We also conclude that it is important to ensure that the information disseminated is accurate given that behavioral effects are also found in networks with low-quality information.