Can Network Theory-Based Targeting Increase Technology Adoption?

Lori Beaman, Ariel BenYishay, Jeremy Magruder, Ahmed Mushfiq MobarakEconomics产业组织FT50

American Economic Review2021-05-27William & Mary; University of California, Berkeley; Yale UniversityDOI

Citations398

Influential28

References71

TL;DR

The results indicate that technology diffusion is characterized by a complex contagion learning environment in which most farmers need to learn from multiple people before they adopt themselves.

Can targeting information to network-central farmers induce more adoption of a new agricultural technology? By combining social network data and a field experiment in 200 villages in Malawi, we find that targeting central farmers is important to spur the diffusion process. We also provide evidence of one explanation for why centrality matters: a diffusion process governed by complex contagion. Our results are consistent with a model in which many farmers need to learn from multiple people before they adopt themselves. This means that without proper targeting of information, the diffusion process can stall and technology adoption remains perpetually low. (JEL O13, O18, O33, Q12, Q16)

CentralityProcess (computing)EconomicsEarly adopterDiffusionInnovation diffusionIndustrial organizationBusinessComputer scienceMarketingMathematicsAgricultural Innovations and Practices