2019 年 2019 巻 1 号 p. 43-52
The aim of this research is to verify the effect of a direct payment program for farmers practicing environmental conservation agriculture on the spread of this type of agriculture. This program was a community-based scheme and participation was voluntary. Since voluntary participation is fundamental, there is a selection bias in the policy effect. Therefore, in order to estimate the policy impact, it is necessary to estimate the causal effect by complementing counterfactuals and comparing them with actual data. So we use propensity score matching method to estimate the policy impact. The results of the investigation indicate that even if the selection bias is removed, the program has a positive influence on the spread of environmental conservation agriculture. In addition, past efforts, existence of leaders, and local social capital were identified as factors that promoted participation in the program. This result suggests that the formation of steady human capital is necessary to promote the program.
