The Acquisition of Information and the Adoption of New Technology

TLDR

The study develops a dynamic diffusion model of a new technology with variable input and proposes hypotheses on how adoption patterns vary with farm size and information access. The model incorporates active information accumulation with associated costs to explain technology diffusion dynamics. Empirical analysis from India supports the model’s explanation that smaller farmers adopt innovations more slowly due to information costs.

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a dynamic model of diffusion of a new technology involving a variable input. The model highlights the role of active information accumulation, which entails costs. It generates several hypotheses regarding the likely pattern of adoption and use of the variable input over time by farmers of differing holding sizes and different access to information. It provides a possible explanation to the often observed lag in adoption of innovations by smaller farmers. Analysis of data from India on knowledge and adoption of several practices yields results which are generally consistent with the hypotheses suggested by the theoretical framework.