ABSTRACT The study deployed the experimental and behavioural economics toolkit to determine how risk aversion attitude, time preference and poverty status influenced farmers’ marketing channel preferences between the state-owned Grain Marketing Board (GMB) and the private buyer market. Following maize market deregulation and subsequent entry of private buyers in the Zimbabwean grain sector, marginalised poor farmers remained confined to the low return private buyer market that offered very low prices, as they avoided GMB whose payment plan was uncertain and delayed. The question therefore was: To what extent did farmers’ risk aversion attitude and time preference explain the poor farmers’ choice for low return private buyer market at the expense of the high return GMB market? Using survey data obtained from 433 maize farmers in Makonde and Zvimba districts, an instrumental variable probit regression model was estimated. The results confirmed that risk aversion attitude and time preferences (as measured by farmers’ discount rate) reduced the likelihood of a farmer participating in a high return state-owned GMB market. Poor farmers were found to be more risk averse and impatient than non-poor farmers in marketing channel selection. Their high risk aversion attitude and impatience constituted the greatest market impediments that restricted them to the low return private buyer market. To make agricultural markets work for poverty reduction the study recommended that policies that promote the development of risk transfer markets and futures markets for maturity transformation of farmers’ payments are critical in guaranteeing effective participation of poor households in high return markets.

中文翻译：

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贫困、风险规避和时间偏好对玉米营销渠道选择决策的影响：以津巴布韦 Zvimba 和 Makonde 地区为例

摘要 本研究部署了实验和行为经济学工具包，以确定风险厌恶态度、时间偏好和贫困状况如何影响农民在国有粮食营销委员会 (GMB) 和私人买方市场之间的营销渠道偏好。在玉米市场放松管制以及随后私人买家进入津巴布韦粮食部门之后，边缘化的贫困农民仍然局限于提供极低价格的低回报私人买家市场，因为他们避开了付款计划不确定和延迟的专线小市场。因此问题是：农民的风险规避态度和时间偏好在多大程度上解释了贫困农民选择低回报私人买方市场而牺牲高回报的专线小市场市场？使用从 Makonde 和 Zvimba 地区的 433 名玉米农民获得的调查数据，估计了一个工具变量概率回归模型。结果证实，风险规避态度和时间偏好（以农民的贴现率衡量）降低了农民参与高回报国有 GMB 市场的可能性。在营销渠道选择上，贫困农户被发现比非贫困农户更厌恶风险和缺乏耐心。他们的高风险规避态度和急躁情绪构成了将他们限制在低回报私人买方市场的最大市场障碍。