Learning about Farming: Innovation and Social Networks in a Resettled Community in Brazil

Margherita Comola (), Carla Inguaggiato and Mariapia Mendola
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Carla Inguaggiato: University of Bern

No 14092, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We study the role of social learning in the diffusion of cash crops in a resettled village economy in northeastern Brazil. We combine detailed geo-coded data on farming plots with dyadic data on social ties among settlers, and we leverage natural exogenous variation in network formation induced by the land occupation movement and the agrarian reform. By using longitudinal data on farming decisions over 15 years we find consistent evidence of significant peer effects in the decision to farm new cash fruits (pineapple and passion fruit). Our results suggest that social diffusion is heterogeneous along observed plot and crop characteristics, i.e. farmers growing water-sensitive crop are more likely to respond to the actions of peers with similar water access conditions.

Keywords: peer effects; social networks; agrarian reform; technology adoption; Brazil (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C45 D85 J15 O33 Q15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2021-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev, nep-net and nep-soc
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - revised version published as 'Social Networks and Economic Transformation: Evidence from a Resettled Village in Brazil' in: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2024, 221, 17-34

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Working Paper: Learning about Farming: Innovation and Social Networks in a Resettled Community in Brazil (2021)
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