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Human Capital, Adjustments in Subjective Probabilities, and the Demand for Pest Controls
Author(s) -
Pingali Prabhu L.,
Carlson Gerald A.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
american journal of agricultural economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.949
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1467-8276
pISSN - 0002-9092
DOI - 10.2307/1241826
Subject(s) - human capital , pest analysis , economics , integrated pest management , risk aversion (psychology) , extension (predicate logic) , capital (architecture) , econometrics , agricultural science , microeconomics , business , expected utility hypothesis , computer science , marketing , environmental science , geography , ecology , economic growth , financial economics , biology , archaeology , programming language
In addition to risk aversion, farmer behavior in an uncertain environment is governed by subjective probability estimates of random events. The estimates given here lend support to the idea that human capital development can improve farmers' ability to estimate pest damage probabilities. More accurate assessment of subjective probabilities leads to lower pesticide use and increases the use of labor‐intensive pest controls. The human capital variables with the largest effects are formal schooling and farmer experience, with smaller impacts from field scouting and extension schools.