The Behavioralist Goes Door-to-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment

48 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2019 Last revised: 8 Jul 2023

See all articles by Matilde Giaccherini

Matilde Giaccherini

University of Rome Tor Vergata - Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth (CEIS); CESifo

David Herberich

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

David Jimenez Gomez

Universidad de Alicante - Department of Economics

John A. List

University of Chicago - Department of Economics

Giovanni Ponti

Universidad de Alicante - Department of Economic Analysis; Luiss Guido Carli University - Department of Economics and Finance

Michael K. Price

University of Alabama - Department of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies

Date Written: August 2019

Abstract

This paper uses a field experiment to estimate behavioral parameters from a structural model of residential adoption of technology. As our model includes both economic and psychological factors, we are able to identify the role of prices, social norms, social pressure, and curiosity on the adoption decision. We find that prices and social norms influence the adoption decision along different margins, opening up the opportunity for economics and psychology to be strong complements in the diffusion process. In addition, welfare estimates from our structural model point to important household heterogeneities: whereas some consumers welcome the opportunity to purchase and learn about the new technology, for others the inconvenience and social pressure of the ask results in negative welfare. As a whole, our findings highlight that the design of optimal technological diffusion policies will require multiple instruments and a recognition of individual household heterogeneities.

Suggested Citation

Giaccherini, Matilde and Herberich, David and Jimenez Gomez, David and List, John A. and Ponti, Giovanni and Price, Michael K., The Behavioralist Goes Door-to-Door: Understanding Household Technological Diffusion Using a Theory-Driven Natural Field Experiment (August 2019). NBER Working Paper No. w26173, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3439182

Matilde Giaccherini (Contact Author)

University of Rome Tor Vergata - Centre for International Studies on Economic Growth (CEIS) ( email )

Via Columbia, 2
Rome, I-00133
Italy

CESifo ( email )

Poschinger Str. 5
Munich, DE-81679
Germany

David Herberich

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

David Jimenez Gomez

Universidad de Alicante - Department of Economics ( email )

Apartado de Correos 99
Alicante, 03080
Spain

John A. List

University of Chicago - Department of Economics ( email )

1126 East 59th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Giovanni Ponti

Universidad de Alicante - Department of Economic Analysis ( email )

03080 Alicante
Spain

Luiss Guido Carli University - Department of Economics and Finance ( email )

Viale di Villa Massimo, 57
Rome, 00161
Italy

Michael K. Price

University of Alabama - Department of Economics, Finance and Legal Studies ( email )

P.O. Box 870244
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487
United States

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