American Economic Journal:
Applied Economics
ISSN 1945-7782 (Print) | ISSN 1945-7790 (Online)
Spillovers without Social Interactions in Urban Sanitation
American Economic Journal: Applied Economics
vol. 16,
no. 3, July 2024
(pp. 482–515)
Abstract
We run a randomized controlled trial coupled with lab-in-the-field social network experiments in urban Dakar. Decision spillovers and health externalities play a large role in determining uptake of sanitation technology, with decision spillovers being largest among households that don't receive significant subsidies. There is no evidence that the spillovers are explained by social forces in general, nor by specific social mechanisms such as learning from others, social pressure, or reciprocity. We do find evidence of a fourth, nonsocial, mechanism impacting decisions: increasing health benefits. As more neighbors adopt the sanitary technology, it becomes more worthwhile for other households to adopt as well.Citation
Deutschmann, Joshua W., Molly Lipscomb, Laura Schechter, and Jessica Zhu. 2024. "Spillovers without Social Interactions in Urban Sanitation." American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 16 (3): 482–515. DOI: 10.1257/app.20220047Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- I12 Health Behavior
- O12 Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
- Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
- Q55 Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
- Z13 Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification
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