@article{b03e0726cce0403091146ece03d6db57,
title = "Identifying and decomposing peer effects on decision-making using a randomized controlled trial",
abstract = "Utilizing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) in traditional clusters of apparel and textile firms in Vietnam, this paper investigates peer effects on firm managers{\textquoteright} decisions to participate in seminars on export promotion. We invited 131 randomly selected firm representatives to three one-day seminars on export promotion. We use the number of randomly invited peers to identify peer effects. We further decompose the invited peers into peers invited to the same seminar, those invited to the earlier seminars, and those invited to the later seminars. We find that the former has a positive effect on firms' participation, whereas the latter two have no significant effect. These results imply that peer effects on participation primarily arise from the benefits of face-to-face interactions. The presence of positive peer effects suggests that multiple equilibria in terms of the share of participants within each village of firms may emerge, which is also consistent with our observations.",
keywords = "C93, D22, Free riding, Information confirmation, Peer effects, Randomized controlled trials, Social networks, Word-of-mouth",
author = "Daichi Shimamoto and Yasuyuki Todo and Kim, {Yu Ri} and Petr Matous",
note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the JSPS Kakenhi Grant (No. 25101003, 26245037, and 17K13738). Funding Information: This research was conducted as part of a project entitled {\textquoteleft}Firms' Domestic and International Networks,{\textquoteright} which was undertaken at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). The authors would like to thank the JSPS Kakenhi Grant (No. 25101003, 26245037, and 17K13738) and Waseda University for their financial support. The authors also wish to thank two anonymous referees, Ichimura Hidehiko, Tatsuo Hatta, Charles Yuji Horioka, Takeshi Aida, Tadao Hoshino, Shinsuke Uchida, Yuki Higuchi, Masayuki Morikawa, Yasuyuki Sawada, Junichi Yamazaki, Pedro Franco, Takashi Kurosaki, Tsunehiro Otsuki, Yukichi Mano, Yutaka Arimoto, Mari Tanaka, Kazuya Masuda, Keisuke Kawata, Eiichi Tomiura, Makoto Yano, and the seminar participants at Keio University, RIETI, Hitotsubashi University, Waseda University, Musashi University, Tokyo Labor Economics Workshop, Nagoya City University, the University of Sydney, Tsukuba University, Osaka University, 12th Annual Conference on Economic Growth and Development at Indian Statistical Institute and the workshop on Global Economic Issues and Regional Policy Responses at Korea University for their helpful comments. The opinions that are expressed and the arguments that are employed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of RIETI, Waseda University, Kindai University, Hanyang University, the University of Sydney, or any institution with which the authors are affiliated. Funding Information: This research was conducted as part of a project entitled {\textquoteleft}Firms' Domestic and International Networks,{\textquoteright} which was undertaken at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI). The authors would like to thank the JSPS Kakenhi Grant (No. 25101003, 26245037, and 17K13738) and Waseda University for their financial support. The authors also wish to thank two anonymous referees, Ichimura Hidehiko, Tatsuo Hatta, Charles Yuji Horioka, Takeshi Aida, Tadao Hoshino, Shinsuke Uchida, Yuki Higuchi, Masayuki Morikawa, Yasuyuki Sawada, Junichi Yamazaki, Pedro Franco, Takashi Kurosaki, Tsunehiro Otsuki, Yukichi Mano, Yutaka Arimoto, Mari Tanaka, Kazuya Masuda, Keisuke Kawata, Eiichi Tomiura, Makoto Yano, and the seminar participants at Keio University, RIETI, Hitotsubashi University, Waseda University, Musashi University, Tokyo Labor Economics Workshop, Nagoya City University, the University of Sydney, Tsukuba University, Osaka University, 12th Annual Conference on Economic Growth and Development at Indian Statistical Institute and the workshop on Global Economic Issues and Regional Policy Responses at Korea University for their helpful comments. The opinions that are expressed and the arguments that are employed in this paper are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of RIETI, Waseda University, Kindai University, Hanyang University, the University of Sydney, or any institution with which the authors are affiliated. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, The Author(s).",
year = "2022",
month = aug,
doi = "10.1007/s00181-021-02153-w",
language = "English",
volume = "63",
pages = "1029--1058",
journal = "Empirical Economics",
issn = "0377-7332",
publisher = "Physica-Verlag",
number = "2",
}