American Economic Review · 2021 · Lori A. Beaman、Ariel BenYishay、Jeremy Magruder、Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
中文摘要
将信息瞄准于网络中心农民能否诱致更多新农业技术的采用？通过结合社会网络数据与在马拉维200个村庄开展的实地实验，我们发现瞄准中心农民对促进扩散过程至关重要。我们还为中心性为何重要提供了一种解释的证据：由复杂传染驱动的扩散过程。我们的结果与如下模型一致：许多农民需要从多人处学习后才会自行采用。这意味着，若缺乏适当的信息瞄准，扩散过程可能停滞，技术采用将长期处于低位。(JEL O13, O18, O33, Q12, Q16)
Abstract
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)