Dominik Naeher (Goettingen University)

Dominik Naeher
University of Göttingen
Department of Development Economics, CeMIS 

Résumé

Various channels have been considered in the literature to account for slow uptake and suboptimal usage of technology. Yet, many empirical patterns of technological diffusion processes remain puzzling. One recently proposed explanation centers around the idea that adoption decisions are affected by attentional costs associated with adequately managing and operating technology in the presence of constraints to information processing (modeled using tools from the rational inattention literature). While these 'attentional barriers' to technology adoption build on the same features of technology as learning models (e.g., based on Bayesian updating), their theoretical predictions and implications for policymaking can be very different. We study a framework that allows to separate the respective roles of learning and costly information processing in determining optimal technology adoption behavior. We then apply the model to derive a set of testable predictions regarding agricultural technology adoption. Finally, we discuss the design of a randomized field experiment to assess some of these predictions empirically in the context of two recent innovations in climate resilient farming practices in India.