TY  - JOUR
AU  - Oster,Emily
AU  - Thornton,Rebecca
TI  - Determinants of Technology Adoption: Private Value and Peer Effects in Menstrual Cup Take-Up
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 14828
PY  - 2009
Y2  - March 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14828
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w14828.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Emily Oster
University of Chicago
Booth School of Business
5807 South Woodlawn Ave
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/834-1552
Fax: 773-834-8172
E-Mail: eoster@uchicago.edu

Rebecca Thornton
University of Michigan
611 Tappan St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Tel: 734-763-3720
E-Mail: rebeccal@umich.edu
AB  - We estimate the role of benefits and peer effects in technology adoption using data from randomized distribution of menstrual cups in Nepal.  Using individual randomization, we estimate causal effects of peer exposure on adoption; using differences in potential returns we estimate effects of benefits.  We find both peers and value influence adoption.  Using the fact that we observe both trial and usage of the product, we examine the mechanisms driving peer effects.  We find that peers matters because individuals learn how to use the technology from their friends, but that they do not affect individual desire to use the cup.
ER  -