Cooperative membership as a signal of trust and trustworthiness in a low income economic environment: a randomized experiment in the Philippines

The purpose of this report is to explore the role of cooperative membership as a mechanism for strengthening trust and reliability among participants, and to investigate its effects on contributions and beliefs within the context of an investment game scenario. Through data obtained from a randomized experiment involving sugar farmers in the Philippines, our goal is to analyze whether cooperative affiliation influences members’ contributions, shapes their beliefs regarding trustee responses, and ultimately affects economic development opportunities.

Through this analysis, we aim to determine whether cooperative membership fosters a sense of trust and reliability, thereby enhancing cooperative interactions and potentially facilitating economic growth. Additionally, the aim is also to examine whether the observed effects differ between cooperative members and non-members, providing insights into potential internal biases within cooperative networks.