Reference Dependence and Effort Provision: Does Access to Clean WaterMatter?

The rural poor of Northeast Brazil do not have time to waste; their entire livelihood is dependent on using their time wisely. The objective of the proposed project is to better understand not only how access to clean water impacts the time-use decisions of the rural poor in Brazil, but why these patterns exist. A framed-field experiment is designed to uncover the underlying motivations behind behavioural choices to complement an on-going project measuring how rainwater cisterns impact time-use patterns. Specifically, the experiment will test for reference dependent behaviour and uncover the sources of these reference points. It will generate important information regarding why these individuals make the choices they do.

Faculty Supervisor:

Gustavo Bobonis

Student:

Partner:

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro

Discipline:

Business

Sector:

University:

University of Toronto

Program:

Globalink Research Award