We estimate higher order risk preferences of farmers from a water scarce region in West Bengal, India. We then examine correlations across risk aversion, prudence and temperance attitudes of farmers, and explore associations of these preferences with household characteristics. Our experimental findings indicate risk seeking behaviour of farmers. We find that farmers took more prudent and temperate decisions. Risk aversion and prudence have a significant negative correlation, whereas prudence and temperance have a significant positive correlation. Individual characteristics such as age, education, and entrepreneurship, income and value of assets are also correlated with various risk preferences. Increased stated drought resilience of farmers is positively correlated with prudence. Farmers affected by water scarcity in the Kharif make imprudent choices. Farmers with higher cropping intensities exhibit high levels of prudence and temperance. These findings have important theoretical and policy implications which we discuss in the paper.

我们估计印度西孟加拉邦缺水地区农民的较高风险偏好。然后，我们研究了农民的风险规避，审慎和节制态度之间的相关性，并探讨了这些偏好与家庭特征的相关性。我们的实验结果表明农民寻求风险的行为。我们发现农民做出了更为审慎而温和的决定。风险规避和审慎有显着的负相关，而审慎和节制有显着的正相关。年龄，教育程度和企业家精神，资产的收入和价值等个人特征也与各种风险偏好相关。农民说的抗旱能力增强与审慎性正相关。受Kharif缺水影响的农民做出了不明智的选择。种植强度较高的农民表现出较高的审慎性和节制性。这些发现具有重要的理论和政策含义，我们将在本文中进行讨论。