Abstract
Using a framed field experiment we test bed the effect of persuasive communication as a potential strategy in the fight against drugs in Colombia. Our design varies the messages that farmers living in coca growing areas receive, while highlighting particular negative effects of growing coca in their community. We find that persuasive messages have little effectiveness at reducing investments in coca. While messages that focus on the impacts that coca has on violence and make this relation salient providing figures reduce the likelihood to invest in coca, this treatment does not decrease the total investment in coca. We find that persuasion messages only work in villages with high density of coca.
Co-author: Juanita Vásquez.
Acerca del expositor
Marcela Ibáñez es Doctora en Economía de la University of Gothenburg (Suecia). Actualmente se desempeña como profesora asociada y líder del grupo en Behavioral Development Economics en el Center for the Study of Poverty, Equity and Growth de la University of Göttingen. Su investigación se centra en economía del desarrollo y del comportamiento, economía del trabajo y evaluación de políticas.