Does Poverty Really Impede Cognitive Function? Experimental Evidence from Tanzanian Fishers

<p>Does the feeling of scarcity really impede cognitive function? Using experimental evidence from Tanzanian fishers, this study examines the connection between poverty and cognitive function. Fishers in the experiment are tested on how exposure to a ‘scarcity trigger’ impacts cognition and productivity through measuring performance on problem solving tasks. The study also creates an index of distractions to test how existing problems in an individual’s life, which contribute to limited attention, relates to cognitive function and productivity. Experimental results do not find that mental and financial scarcities significantly impact test performance. Although the study finds no significant causal evidence, this paper goes into an in-depth review of similar experiments and shows with more statistical power the study would yield effect sizes similar to those found in existing literature. Results do suggest that scarcities may hinder problem-solving abilities; therefore, poverty alleviation programs should be designed to consider the potential cognitive impacts of scarcity.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Economics

Year dc:date.available

2015

Author dc:creator

• Graves, Virginia

Contributors dc:contributor

• Yaniv Stopnitzky

• Scarcity
• Cognition
• Behavioral Economics
• Experimental Economics
• Tanzania
• Growth and Development

Repository record dc:identifier

https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/129

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.usfca.edu:thes-1148