It takes two: Experimental evidence on the determinants of technology diffusion

Morgan Hardy and Jamie McCasland

Journal of Development Economics, 2021, vol. 149, issue C

Abstract: This paper reports on an experiment that brings insights from the literature on demand-side determinants of technology adoption to the study of peer-to-peer diffusion. We develop a custom weaving technique and randomly seed training into a real network of garment making firm owners in Ghana. Training leads to limited adoption among trainees, but little to no diffusion to non-trainees. In a second phase, we cross-randomize demand for the technique. Demand shocks increase adoption of the technology in both groups and diffusion to untrained firms, generated by a pattern in which trained firm owners teach approximately 400% more of their peers if they are randomly assigned to the demand intervention. We find no evidence that our main effects are driven by differences in ability (learning-by-doing) or other adoption-based mechanisms. Rather, our findings are most consistent with the demand intervention generating differential willingness to diffuse among potential teachers.

Keywords: Networks; Diffusion; Technology; Demand; Firms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 L14 O12 O14 O17 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:deveco:v:149:y:2021:i:c:s0304387820301759

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2020.102600

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