Personality Traits, Technology Adoption, and Technical Efficiency : Evidence from Smallholder Rice Farms in Ghana

Ali, Daniel Ayalew ; Bowen, Derick ; Deininger, Klaus

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: personality traits;    noncognitive skills;    technology adoption;    technical efficiency;    rice farmers;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-7959
RP-ID  :  WPS7959

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Although a large literature highlightsthe impact of personality traits on key labor marketoutcomes, evidence of their impact on agriculturalproduction decisions remains limited. Data from 1,200Ghanaian rice farmers suggest that noncognitive skills(polychronicity, work centrality, and optimism)significantly affect simple adoption decisions, returns fromadoption, and technical efficiency in rice production, andthat the size of the estimated impacts exceeds that oftraditional human capital measures. Greater focus onpersonality traits relative to cognitive skills may helpaccelerate innovation diffusion in the short term, and helpfarmers to respond flexibly to new opportunities and risksin the longer term.