Bangladesh Cow Study: An Experiment in Escaping Poverty Traps
A 2007 study in Bangladesh provided a significant asset (a cow, valued at around $500) to 3,276 extremely poor women to test if this could help them escape poverty. The participants were characterized by very low literacy (only 7% could read and write) and earned wages equivalent to about 30 US cents per hour from working for others. This contrasted with better-off women in the same villages, who owned cows and generated higher incomes from selling milk and manure, suggesting that asset ownership was a key differentiator in their economic status.
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Findings of the Bangladesh Cow Study Follow-up (Balboni et al.)
A 2007 study provided a valuable productive asset (a cow) to thousands of extremely poor women in Bangladesh. The goal was to see if this single intervention could significantly alter their long-term economic status, given that other, slightly better-off women in the same villages already owned such assets and earned higher incomes. What is the core economic assumption being tested by the design of this experiment?
Rationale for Asset Choice in Poverty Study
Evaluating Causal Claims in Poverty Interventions
A 2007 study identified a group of extremely poor women in rural Bangladesh earning about 30 cents per hour. Researchers provided each of these women with a cow, a significant productive asset. The researchers observed that other, slightly wealthier women in the same villages already owned cows and generated much higher incomes. Based only on the design of this initial intervention, what is the primary comparison the study is set up to investigate?
Analyzing the Logic of an Asset-Based Poverty Intervention
A 2007 study in Bangladesh provided a valuable asset (a cow) to a group of extremely poor women who earned very low wages. Researchers noted that other, slightly better-off women in the same villages already owned cows and had higher incomes. Based on this experimental design, the study's core premise is that the primary factor preventing the poorer women from achieving higher earnings was their lack of specialized training in modern agricultural techniques.
Evaluating an Experimental Design for Poverty Alleviation
A 2007 study focused on a group of extremely poor women in Bangladesh who had very low literacy rates and earned about 30 cents per hour working for others. In the same villages, a group of slightly wealthier women owned cows and earned significantly more from selling milk and manure. Given this contrast, what does the study's design suggest is the most critical barrier to economic advancement for the poorer group?
Significance of Participant Characteristics in a Poverty Study
Analyzing the Experimental Logic of a Poverty Intervention