Innovation Diffusion in Heterogeneous Populations: Contagion, Social Influence, and Social Learning
American Economic Review · 2009 · Volume 99 · Issue 5
Abstract
New ideas, products, and practices take time to diffuse, a fact that is often attributed to some form of heterogeneity among potential adopters. This paper examines three broad classes of diffusion models -- contagion, social influence, and social learning -- and shows how to incorporate heterogeneity into each at a high level of generality without losing analytical tractability. Each type of model leaves a characteristic "footprint" on the shape of the adoption curve which provides a basis for discriminating empirically between them. The approach is illustrated using the classic study of Ryan and Gross (1943) on the diffusion of hybrid corn. (JEL D83, O33, Q16, Z13)
Keywords
Search, Learning, Information and Knowledge, Communication, Belief, Technological Change: Choices and Consequences, Diffusion Processes, Agricultural R&D, Agricultural Technology, Agricultural Extension Services, Economic Sociology, Economic Anthropology, Social and Economic Stratification
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