Incentivizing and nudging farmers to spread information: Experimental evidence from Ethiopia

Information does not flow freely through social networks. We use an experiment to study knowledge diffusion about an innovation (integrated pest management, IPM) in farmer groups in Ethiopia. Group leaders are incentivized to share knowledge with members through the conditional provision of material...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of agricultural economics 2023-05, Vol.105 (3), p.994-1010
Main Authors: Balew, Solomon, Bulte, Erwin, Abro, Zewdu, Kassie, Menale
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural economics
agricultural extension
Agricultural practices
Aversion
clawback
Diffusion
Farmers
Incentives
Innovations
Integrated pest management
Pest control
Prestige
reference‐dependent utility
Rewards
Social networks
Social organization
social prestige vs material rewards
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Summary:Information does not flow freely through social networks. We use an experiment to study knowledge diffusion about an innovation (integrated pest management, IPM) in farmer groups in Ethiopia. Group leaders are incentivized to share knowledge with members through the conditional provision of material or social prestige rewards. We combine incentives with loss‐framed messaging to leverage loss aversion. Incentives increase diffusion effort, and combining incentives with loss‐framed messaging increases effort further. However, the treatments failed to induce follower farmers to experiment with IPM. We also document that reclaiming material rewards is difficult after a long delay, attenuating the effectiveness of the loss frame.
ISSN:0002-9092
1467-8276
DOI:10.1111/ajae.12346