https://macropaperwarehouse.com/authors/stefan-dercon/Stefan DerconHugo -- gohugo.ioen-ushttps://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/the-future-in-mind-aspirations-and-long-term-outcomes-in-rural-ethiopia/https://macropaperwarehouse.com/papers/the-future-in-mind-aspirations-and-long-term-outcomes-in-rural-ethiopia/<p>This paper tests whether a light-touch behavioral intervention targeting aspirations can produce persistent economic effects on a poor rural population. The research question is whether changing how poor people perceive their future opportunities — by raising aspirations — alters their investment decisions in ways that persist over a multi-year horizon. The authors conduct a randomized controlled trial in Doba, a remote mountainous district in rural Ethiopia roughly 380 kilometers from Addis Ababa, selected partly because its extreme isolation meant residents had almost no exposure to television or media, making even a single video screening a memorable event.</p>