Microfinance and Prosocial Behaviors: Experimental Evidence of Public-Good Contributions in Uganda.
McCannon, B.C., & Rodriguez, Z.T. (2019). Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics.
Microfinance is an important component of the fight against poverty. We ask whether access to microfinance loans by the poor relates to their prosocial behaviors. A lab-in-the-field study in southern, rural Uganda is done. A public-good game is used to measure subjects' willingness to free-ride. We document higher levels of contributions by those who have previously received a micro-loan. We explore potential explanations such as differing social-norm assessments, measurable income effects, or sample selection bias. Receiving a micro-loan continues have an independent effect on pro-sociality. The results suggest that exposure to microfinance correlates with social preferences.
Orphans and Pro-social Behaviour: Evidence from Uganda.
McCannon, B.C., & Rodriguez, Z.T. (2019). Journal of International Development.
Disease and violence escalate the prevalence of orphanhood. We investigate whether individuals who were orphaned as a child suffer long-term consequences on their pro-sociality. We conduct a lab-in-the-field experiment in rural Uganda where, among other contributing factors, the HIV/AIDS pandemic hit hardest.Subjects made decisions to contribute to a public good. Results indicate that adults who were orphaned as a child contribute less. We provide evidence that an important channel through which the mechanism operates is through social norms. Subjects orphaned tend to have lower expectations regarding typical behaviour of others. A strong interaction effect is identified where those with the lowest expectations who were also orphaned contribute the least to the public good. Thus, we document orphanhood's long-term consequences to a community.
Zachary Rodriguez, PhD: Founder and CEO, Embrace It Africa
In addition to running EIA, Zachary Rodriguez is an assistant professor of economics at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Rodriguez earned his PhD in economics from West Virginia University, his MBA from St. Bonaventure in Olean, NY, and his MTS in philosophy, theology, and ethics from Boston University.
