The Material basis of Cooperation: how Scarcity Reduces Trusting Behaviour

Abstract Trusting behaviour is a cornerstone of cooperation and, hence, economic performance, not least in poorer communities where transactions often rely on informal agreements. But trusting potentially costly since the counterpart may decide to defect. In this study, we investigate whether food scarcity influences level rural Tanzania by leveraging quasi-experimental variation supply induced harvest. Through lab-in-the-field experiment, document that farmers display lower levels during lean season compared abundant and show difference explained scarcity.