Working Paper: NBER ID: w20139
Authors: Ariel Benyishay; A Mushfiq Mobarak
Abstract: Low adoption of agricultural technologies holds large productivity consequences for developing countries. Agricultural extension services counter information failures by deploying external agents to communicate with farmers. However, social networks are recognized as the most credible source of information about new technologies. We incorporate social learning in extension policy using a large-scale field experiment in which we communicate to farmers using different members of social networks. We show that communicator effort is susceptible to small performance incentives, and the social identity of the communicator influences learning and adoption. Farmers find communicators who face agricultural conditions and constraints most comparable to themselves to be the most persuasive. Incorporating communication dynamics can take the influential social learning literature in a more policy-relevant direction.
Keywords: agricultural technologies; social learning; communication; technology adoption; Malawi
JEL Codes: O13; O33; Q16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| type of communicator (L96) | adoption of agricultural technologies (Q16) |
| peer farmers (C92) | adoption of agricultural technologies (Q16) |
| performance incentives (M52) | effort exerted by communicators (L96) |
| effort exerted by communicators (L96) | flow of information (O36) |
| flow of information (O36) | adoption of agricultural technologies (Q16) |
| incentives (M52) | knowledge retention of communicators (D83) |
| knowledge retention of communicators (D83) | adoption of agricultural technologies (Q16) |
| adoption of agricultural technologies (Q16) | increased yields (Q15) |