Individuals’ aspirations and their consequences for future-oriented behavior have received increased attention in devel-opment economics literature in recent years. At this stage, however, each study relies on ad hoc empirical instruments to measure aspirations, thereby limiting...

Poor people often do not make investments, even when returns are high.  One possible explanation is that they have low aspirations and form mental models which ignore some options for investment.  This paper reports on findings of an innovative experiment to test this in rural Ethiopia. ...

Poor people often do not make investments, even when returns are high. One possible explanation is that they have low aspirations and form mental models of their future opportunities which ignore some options for investment. This paper reports on a field experiment to test this hypothesis in...

This paper assesses the importance of social interactions in determining an individual’s choice to connect to an electrical grid, using an original dataset on a new rural electrification program in Ethiopia. Combining GPS information with random allocation of discount vouchers for connection...

This article assesses the importance of social interactions in determining an individual’s choice to connect to an electrical grid, using an original data set on a new rural electrification program in Ethiopia. Combining global positioning system information with random allocation of discount...

This paper relates the Agence Française de Développement?s experience in the area of impact evaluations. Our purpose is to assess to what extent such studies, when designed before actual programme implementation, can provide the type of summative evidence that donors still seek when promoting...

Fatalism is considered pervasive, especially in many poor communities. In this paper, we explore whether fatalistic beliefs have implications for the attitudes and behavior of poor rural households toward investment in the future. To explore the idea of fatalism, we draw inspiration from...

Poor people often do not make investments, even when returns are high. One possible explanation is that they have low aspirations and form mental models which ignore some options for investment. This paper reports on findings of an innovative experiment to test this in rural Ethiopia. Firstly,...

This paper relates the Agence Française de Développement's experience with respect to impact evaluations. Our purpose is to assess the extent to which such studies, when designed before an actual programme implementation, can provide the type of summative evidence that donors often seek for...