Applied Economics Seminar Series: Can Referral Improve Targeting? Evidence from a Training Experiment

We seek to better target agricultural training by inviting current trainees to refer future trainees.  Some referees are rewarded or incentivized.  Training increases the adoption of recommended practices and improves performance, but not all trainees adopt.  Referred trainees are 3.7% more likely to adopt than randomly selected trainees, but rewarding or incentivizing referees does not improve referral quality.  When referees receive financial compensation, referees and referred farmers are more likely to coordinate their adoption behaviour.  Incentivized referees are more likely to adopt, to incur losses from adoption, and to abandon the new practices in the following year.

Presented by Asad Islam, Monash.