Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence From Village Economies 2009
Kenya, 2009
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Reference ID
KEN_2009_RKT_v01_M
Producer(s)
Pamela Jakiela, Owen Ozier
Metadata
Created on
Aug 24, 2016
Last modified
Aug 24, 2016
Page views
11436
Downloads
1675
Identification
Survey ID Number
KEN_2009_RKT_v01_M
Title
Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence From Village Economies 2009
Country/Economy
| Name | Country code |
|---|---|
| Kenya | KEN |
Study type
Other Household Survey
Abstract
The survey data accompanies the paper, "Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence From Village Economies," published in the Review of Economic Studies, (2016) 83 (1): 231-268. The paper measures the economic impacts of social pressures to share income with relatives and neighbors in rural African villages within a controlled laboratory environment. The researchers conduct a lab experiment in which they randomly vary the observability of positive income shocks resulting from risky investments. In some treatments, they allow participants to pay a price to avoid announcing anything about their income in the game. They vary the price offered to participants, and find that 28 percent of participants choose to pay to avoid the announcement, at a price that is on average 16 percent of their gross earnings in the game. Further, the researchers find that 10 percent of women forced to announce a portion of their income shock adopt an investment strategy that conceals the size of their initial endowment in the experiment, though that strategy reduces their expected earnings. Both findings are suggestive of the economic drag that social pressures may create on investment in SubSaharan Africa.
Kind of Data
Sample survey data [ssd]
Unit of Analysis
Individuals
Households
Villages
Households
Villages
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
Experiments were conducted in 26 rural, predominantly agricultural communities in western Kenya.
Geographic Unit
Village
Universe
Rural, predominantly agricultural communities in western Kenya.
Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 85. In terms of educational attainment,10 percent of subjects had no formal schooling, while 11.6 percent had finished secondary school
Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 85. In terms of educational attainment,10 percent of subjects had no formal schooling, while 11.6 percent had finished secondary school
Producers and sponsors
Primary investigators
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Pamela Jakiela | University of Maryland |
| Owen Ozier | World Bank DECRG |
Funding Agency/Sponsor
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Weidenbaum Center | Funding |
| Center for Research in Economics and Strategy (Washington University - St Louis) | Funding |
Other Identifications/Acknowledgments
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Felipe Dizon | Research Assistance |
| IPA-Kenya | Fieldwork |
Sampling
Sampling Procedure
Before beginning subject recruitment, research assistants met with community leaders - head teachers and local headmen - in selected villages to introduce the project. Villages were selected to be at least five kilometers apart from one another, to prevent overlap in subject populations. One day prior to each experimental session, the survey team conducted a door-to-door recruitment campaign, visiting as many households within the village as possible. All households within each village were invited to send members to participate in the experimental economic game session the following day.
Response Rate
80.1 percent of individuals surveyed prior to the sessions chose to participate.
Data Collection
Dates of Data Collection
| Start | End |
|---|---|
| 2009-08-03 | 2009-10-01 |
Data Collection Mode
Face-to-face [f2f]
Access policy
Contacts
| Name | Affiliation | |
|---|---|---|
| Owen Ozier | World Bank DECRG | oozier@worldbank.org |
Citation requirements
Use of the dataset must be acknowledged using a citation which would include:
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Jakiela, Pamela and Owen Ozier. 2009. Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence from Village Economies Review of Economic Studies (2016) 83 (1): 231-268. Ref. KEN_2009_RKT_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [url] on [date]
- the Identification of the Primary Investigator
- the title of the survey (including country, acronym and year of implementation)
- the survey reference number
- the source and date of download
Example:
Jakiela, Pamela and Owen Ozier. 2009. Does Africa Need a Rotten Kin Theorem? Experimental Evidence from Village Economies Review of Economic Studies (2016) 83 (1): 231-268. Ref. KEN_2009_RKT_v01_M. Dataset downloaded from [url] on [date]
Metadata production
DDI Document ID
DDI_KEN_2009_RKT_v01_M_WB
Producers
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development Economics Data Group | DECDG | The World Bank | Documentation of the DDI |
Date of Metadata Production
2016-08-23
DDI Document version
Version 01 (August 2016)