Identifier
1126
Document Type
Discussion Paper
Date of Paper
4-2026
Abstract
We study the large-scale experimental rollout of a platform that reduced search and matching frictions in Ugandan agricultural markets by connecting buyers and sellers. Market integration improved substantially: trade increased and price gaps fell. Interpreting the experiment through a trade model, we estimate treatment effects accounting for equilibrium changes that impact control markets. The intervention reduced fixed trade costs by 20% and increased trade flows between treated markets by 7% and across all markets by 1%. Scale economies shaped engagement:few farmers used the platform, but equilibrium price convergence from improved arbitrage by larger traders passed through to farm revenue.
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge funding from USAID/BASIS, USAID/DIL, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, awarded through the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI), the International Growth Center, the Policy Design and Evaluation Lab, and an anonymous donor. We thank IPA, Stephanie Annyas and Laza Razafimbelo for excellent project management and James Allen, Russell Morton, and Jared Stolove for excellent research assistance. We thank Paul Nyende from AgriNet and the Kudu team, including Richard Ssekibuule, Nicole Immorlica, Kevin Leyton-Brown, Brendan Lucier, Neil Newman, and John Quinn, for their partnership. This trial was registered as AEARCTR-0000749, and is covered by UCSD IRB #140744. All errors are our own. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Recommended Citation
Lauren F. Bergquist, Craig McIntosh, and Meredith Startz. 2026. "Search Costs, Intermediation, and Trade: Experimental Evidence from Ugandan Agricultural Markets." EGC Discussion Paper 1126.