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From Chatter to Action: How Social Networks Inform and Motivate in Rural Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 December 2021

Jennifer M. Larson Open the ORCID record for Jennifer M. Larson [Opens in a new window] ,
Janet I. Lewis Open the ORCID record for Janet I. Lewis [Opens in a new window]  and
Pedro L. Rodriguez Open the ORCID record for Pedro L. Rodriguez [Opens in a new window]
Jennifer M. Larson*
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
Janet I. Lewis
Affiliation:
George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA
Pedro L. Rodriguez
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: jennifer.larson@vanderbilt.edu
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Abstract

From public health to political campaigns, numerous attempts to encourage behavior begin with the spread of information. Of course, seeding new information does not guarantee action, especially when it is difficult for receivers to verify this information. We use a novel design that introduced valuable, actionable information in rural Uganda and reveals the intermediate process that led many in the village to hear the information but only some to act on it. We find that the seeded information spread easily through word of mouth via a simple contagion process. However, acting on the information spread less easily; this process relied instead on endogenously created social information that served to vet, verify, and pass judgment. Our results highlight an important wedge between information that a policy intervention can best control and the behavior that ultimately results.

Keywords

Networkspolicy interventioninformation and behavior diffusioncontagionword of mouthsocial informationUganda
Type
Article
Information
British Journal of Political Science , Volume 52 , Issue 4 , October 2022 , pp. 1769 - 1789
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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