Haste Makes No Waste: Positive Peer Effects of Classroom Speed Competition on Learning

This study investigates the effects of speed competition in classrooms on young pupils' learning outcomes. To examine how faster peers' speed affects slower pupils' speed and learning, we employ students' daily progress data in a self-learning programme at BRAC primary schools in Bangladesh. The programme's unique setting allows us to address the reflection problem reasonably well. While speed competition could generate negative consequences, our results show overall positive peer effects on problem-solving time and scores. The effects are stronger among peers with similar abilities, without negatively affecting others. Our results show efficiency gains from non-market competition in education and learning

Fighting the Learning Crisis in Developing Countries: A Randomized Experiment of Self-Learning at the Right Level

This study investigates the effectiveness of a globally popular method of self-learning at the right level in improving learning outcomes—the cognitive and noncognitive abilities of disadvantaged students—in a developing country, Bangladesh. Using a randomized controlled trial design, we find substantial improvements in cognitive abilities measured by math test scores and catch-up effects in terms of noncognitive abilities or personality traits measured through a self-esteem scale. Moreover, our study is the first to use alternative cognitive ability measures, that is, time reduction as well as time-adjusted test score, which are critical dimensions of cognitive development. Subsequently, we investigate the long-term effects using students’ math results of the national-level exam. We find a reasonable longer-term impact on cognitive abilities 20 months after the intervention for younger students. Our estimates indicate that the program’s benefits exceed its costs

Delinking of Local and International Prices: Exploring Competition in the Bangladesh Rice Market

We take a broader perspective on the issue of recent price increases in the domestic rice market in Bangladesh. The query that follows is that: what exactly is the nature of competition at different stages of the domestic rice market of Bangladesh? This can be addressed only if we examine the agents, their strategies and incentives at different stages of the rice market value chain. The structure of rice markets in Bangladesh is generally considered to be competitive. But it is entirely possible that market operates quite competitively within one stage, whereas competition is much restricted within another stage. Instead of analyzing competition in the entire market as a single entity, it would be appropriate to analyze competition in each and every stage of the market. Therefore, this study focuses on particular aspects of market competitiveness by explaining incentives and behaviors of different agents in the market, particularly those of large firms operating in the middle of the rice market supply chain. We have examined pricing decisions and bargaining by agents at different stages of the market. We have also studied scope for collusive behavior among large firms in setting prices. In addition, we examined the relationships between the international prices of rice and the domestic wholesale prices

Microinsurance: The Choice among Delivery and Regulatory Mechanisms

We analyse the choice of the appropriate delivery mechanism(s) relevant to various types of microinsurance products in a developmental context like that prevailing in Bangladesh. By examining various delivery mechanisms under different institutional contexts, we analyse the conditions under which they operate best. Then we develop a few criteria that are likely to offer cost efficiency as well as customer acceptance, and judge between different schemes in light of these criteria, and dwell on the interface between the choice of the delivery model and the regulatory stance. Finally, we put forward a set of regulatory and supervisory directives that respect both product and process innovations and uphold the goals of cost efficiency, financial viability and client inclusivity

What Point-of-Use Water Treatment Products Do Consumers Use? Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial among the Urban Poor in Bangladesh

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that household point-of-use (POU) water treatment products can reduce the enormous burden of water-borne illness. Nevertheless, adoption among the global poor is very low, and little evidence exists on why. METHODS: We gave 600 households in poor communities in Dhaka, Bangladesh randomly-ordered two-month free trials of four water treatment products: dilute liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite solution, marketed locally as Water Guard), sodium dichloroisocyanurate tablets (branded as Aquatabs), a combined flocculant-disinfectant powdered mixture (the PUR Purifier of Water), and a silver-coated ceramic siphon filter. Consumers also received education on the dangers of untreated drinking water. We measured which products consumers used with self-reports, observation (for the filter), and chlorine tests (for the other products). We also measured drinking water's contamination with E. coli (compared to 200 control households). FINDINGS: Households reported highest usage of the filter, although no product had even 30% usage. E. coli concentrations in stored drinking water were generally lowest when households had Water Guard. Households that self-reported product usage had large reductions in E. coli concentrations with any product as compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Traditional arguments for the low adoption of POU products focus on affordability, consumers' lack of information about germs and the dangers of unsafe water, and specific products not meshing with a household's preferences. In this study we provided free trials, repeated informational messages explaining the dangers of untreated water, and a variety of product designs. The low usage of all products despite such efforts makes clear that important barriers exist beyond cost, information, and variation among these four product designs. Without a better understanding of the choices and aspirations of the target end-users, household-based water treatment is unlikely to reduce morbidity and mortality substantially in urban Bangladesh and similar populations

Measuring Trust and the Value of Statistical Lives: Evidence from Bangladesh

This thesis includes five self-contained essays. The first three essays relate to the measurement of trust using both an experimental and a survey approach, and the other two essays relate to the measurement of the value of (statistical) life using stated preference methods. Essay 1: The proportion of money sent, which is typically assumed to reflect trust, decreased significantly as the stake size was increased in a trust game conducted in rural Bangladesh. Nevertheless, even with very large stakes, most senders and receivers sent substantial fractions. Essay 2: Trust is measured using both survey questions and a trust experiment using random sample of individuals in rural Bangladesh. We found no significant effect of the social distance between Hindus and Muslims in the trust experiment in terms of fractions sent or returned, but the responses to the survey questions indicate significant differences: Hindus, the minority, trust other people less in general, and Hindus trust Muslims more than the other way around. Essay 3: Levels of trust are measured by asking standard survey questions on trust and by observing the behavior in a trust game using a random sample in rural Bangladesh. Follow-up questions and correlations between the sent amount in the trust game and stated expectations reveal that the amount sent in the trust game is a weak measure of trust. The fear of future punishment, either within or after this life, for not being sufficiently generous to others, was the most frequently stated motive behind the respondents’ behavior, highlighting the potential importance of motives that cannot be inferred directly from people’s behavior. Essay 4: Using the contingent valuation method in developing countries to value mortality risk reduction is particularly challenging because of the low level of education of the respondents. In this paper, we examine the effect of training the respondents regarding probabilities and risk reductions, in addition to using visual aids to communicate risk and risk reductions, in a contingent valuation survey. Our results indicate a significantly higher willingness to pay (WTP) for the trained sub-sample, and WTP is sensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction both with and without the training. Essay 5: By assuming that an individual has preferences concerning different states of the world and these preferences can be described by an individual social welfare function, we explore the relative value of statistical life using survey data from Bangladesh. We apply a pair-wise choice experiment on life-saving programs to elicit individuals’ preferences regarding differences in the values of statistical lives related to age. We find that the relative value decreases strongly with age and that people have strong preferences for saving more life-years, rather than lives per se. Moreover, in specific follow-up questions, it is again elicited that a majority of the respondents believe that it is better, from a social point of view, to save younger individuals

Contingent Valuation of Mortality Risk Reduction in Developing Countries: A Mission Impossible

Using the contingent valuation method in developing countries to value mortality risk reduction is particularly challenging because of the low level of education of the respondents. In this paper, we examine the effect of training the respondents regarding probabilities and risk reductions, in addition to using visual aids to communicate risk and risk reductions, in a contingent valuation survey. Our results indicate a significantly higher WTP for the trained sub-sample, and WTP is sensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction both with and without the training

Contingent Valuation of Mortality Risk Reduction in Developing Countries: A Mission Impossible?

Using the contingent valuation method in developing countries to value mortality risk reduction is particularly challenging because of the low level of education of the respondents. In this paper, we examine the effect of training the respondents regarding probabilities and risk reductions, in addition to using visual aids to communicate risk and risk reductions, in a contingent valuation survey. Our results indicate a significantly higher WTP for the trained sub-sample, and WTP is sensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction both with and without the training.contingent valuation; risk reduction; WTP; effect of training; sensitivity to scope; Bangladesh

Contingent Valuation of Mortality Risk Reduction in Developing Countries: A Mission Impossible?

We examine the effect of training the respondents regarding probabilities and risk reductions, in addition to using visual aids to communicate risk and risk reductions, in a contingent valuation survey of mortality risk reduction in Bangladesh. We elicit individuals’ risk perception and find that people on average overestimate the mortality risk at younger ages and underestimate it at older ages. Our results indicate a significantly higher WTP for the trained sub-sample, and WTP is sensitive to the magnitude of risk reduction both with and without the training.Contingent valuation; risk reduction; WTP; sensitivity to scope; training respondents; Bangladesh