What farmers want: the ‘gustibus multiplier’ and other behavioral insights on agricultural development

Behavioral economic experiments have not only identified realms where human behavior systematically deviates from the predictions of the standard neoclassical model, they have also devised way to measure individuals’ deep preferences concerning risk and time. Preference measurement has in turn opened the door to two area of inquiries: preference heterogeneity as an explanation of fundamental choices concerning savings and investment; and endogenous preference mutations as an explanation for the surprising success or failure of policies and interventions. These new insights and measures allow economics to expand beyond its traditional reliance on variation in prices and incomes as the primary explanators of economic behavior. Drawing on recent work on technology adoption in the face of risk and uncertainty, as well as work on the evolution of hope and aspirations that shape what farmers want, this article articulates frontier issues in agricultural development economics where the tools and perspectives of behavioral economics promise new and important insights.