Distributional effects of trade costs and land market frictions

Study Context

Trade costs and land market frictions are characteristic of agricultural markets in many developing countries. Reductions in trade costs can affect how inputs are allocated across commodities, while reductions in land market frictions affect how inputs are allocated across farmers who may in turn allocate those inputs to the production of different commodities.

Study Design

This project studies how the effects of reductions in trade costs and reductions in land market frictions interact using two unique natural experiments in Ethiopia. The study exploits a large road maintenance and construction project and the rollout of land certification to identify these effects.

Results and Policy Lessons

Results forthcoming.