Replication Data for: 'Rule-of-Thumb Instructions to Improve Fertilizer Management: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh'

This repository contains data used in \"Rule-of-Thumb Instructions to Improve Fertilizer Management: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh,\" an RCT studying the effects of leaf color charts and basic rule-of-thumb instructions on fertilizer use in 105 villages in rural Bangladesh. Specifically, it contains data on from three rounds of surveys: a baseline that includes data at the farm-household and plot levels, a midline that includes time-use data and crop-timing data, and an endline with data symmetric to that collected in the baseline. The baseline data was collected from September-December 2012, the midline right after treatment delivery in 2013, and the endline from June to August 2013. This package also includes the survey instruments used to collect the data; for more information on the data please see the readme. The abstract of the associated paper is as follows: Heavy government subsidies have led to inefficient application and overuse of fertilizer in Bangladesh. This results in above-optimal costs to farmers as well as to the environment and the public. In a randomized controlled trial, we provide farmers with a simple tool (a leaf color chart) and basic, rule-of-thumb instructions to guide the timing and quantity of urea (nitrogen) application. Treatment farmers reduce urea use by 8% without compromising yield, suggesting significant scope for improving urea management. The results are mainly driven by farmers delaying urea application as returns to urea are low early on in the season and urea applied is likely to be wasted. Cost-effectiveness estimates suggest that each dollar spent on this intervention produces a return of US$2.8 due to reduction of urea use over three seasons, as well as significant environmental benefits. We also find suggestive evidence that optimizing the timing of urea application affects farmers’ yields, plausibly as the intervention allows farmers to reallocate urea application to times when returns to urea are highest.本数据集仓库收录了刊发于《提升化肥管理的经验法则指南：来自孟加拉国的实验证据》（Rule-of-Thumb Instructions to Improve Fertilizer Management: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh）的研究所用数据，该研究为一项随机对照试验（Randomized Controlled Trial, RCT），旨在探究叶色卡（Leaf Color Chart）与基础经验法则指南对孟加拉国农村105个村庄内农户化肥施用行为的影响。具体而言，本数据集涵盖三轮调研数据：基线调研数据包含农户与地块两个维度的信息，中期调研数据包含时间使用与作物种植时序两类数据，末期调研数据则包含与基线调研内容对称的对应数据。基线数据采集于2012年9月至12月，中期数据采集于2013年干预措施实施完毕后即刻，末期数据采集于2013年6月至8月。本数据包同时收录了数据采集所用的调研问卷；如需了解更多数据集相关细节，请参阅自述文档（README）。相关研究论文的摘要如下：孟加拉国政府提供的高额化肥补贴，导致当地化肥施用效率低下且用量超标。这不仅使农户承担了超出最优水平的额外成本，同时也对生态环境与公众利益造成了负面影响。在本随机对照试验中，我们为农户提供了一款简易工具——叶色卡，以及基础的经验法则指南，用以指导尿素（urea，氮素）的施用时机与施用量。干预组农户将尿素施用量降低了8%，同时并未造成产量损失，这表明尿素施用管理存在显著的优化空间。该实验结果主要源于农户推迟了尿素施用时机：在作物生长季初期，尿素的边际效益较低，此时施用的尿素大概率会被浪费。成本效益估算结果显示，在三个种植季中，每投入1美元用于该项干预，可通过减少尿素使用获得2.8美元的收益，同时还能带来显著的生态环境效益。我们还获得了提示性证据表明，优化尿素施用时机可对农户产量产生影响，其合理机制为：该项干预帮助农户将尿素施用调整至尿素边际效益最高的时段。