Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13575
Authors: Marit Hinnosaar; Toomas Hinnosaar; Michael Kummer; Olga Slivko
Abstract: Do contributions to online content platforms induce a feedback loop of ever more user-generated content or will they discourage future contributions? To assess this, we use a randomized field experiment which added content to some pages in Wikipedia while leaving similar pages unchanged. We find that adding content has a negligible impact on the subsequent long-run growth of content. Our results have implications for information seeding and incentivizing contributions, implying that additional content does not generate sizable externalities, neither by inspiring nor by discouraging future contributions.
Keywords: user-generated content; knowledge accumulation; Wikipedia
JEL Codes: L17; L86; C93
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Increase in editing activity during the first two years (C41) | Number of users editing the treated pages (C91) |
| Adding content to Wikipedia pages (Y90) | Increase in editing activity during the first two years (C41) |
| Adding content to Wikipedia pages (Y90) | Long-term growth of content (D25) |
| Adding content to Wikipedia pages (Y90) | Sustained effect on page length (C41) |
| Increase in editing activity during the first two years (C41) | Treatment's impact on number of users and edits becomes statistically insignificant and small in magnitude by the third and fourth years (C41) |