# Gendered networks and demand for an agricultural technology in India

## TL;DR

The study finds that men's and women's social networks in India influence differently the adoption of a water-saving agricultural technology.

## Contribution

The paper introduces gender-specific network effects in agricultural technology adoption using a field experiment.

## Key findings

- Men's networks increase demand for the technology, while women's networks decrease it.
- These effects are stronger in households where men value women's opinions and in non-poor households.

## Abstract

Studies on social learning and technology adoption often only consider the networks of a single individual in a household as a source of information influencing agricultural production decisions. We test the validity of this assumption by examining the role of men’s and women’s social networks in the adoption of a novel water-saving technology, laser land leveling (LLL), in India. Using network data from men and women in the same household, we test the influence of being connected to an adopter on demand for LLL. We identify the causal gender-specific network effects using a field experiment that combines an auction with a lottery for the technology, making the presence of adopters in networks exogenous. The data reveal that men’s and women’s networks vary in size and show little overlap. We find that whereas household demand for LLL increases when men are linked to an LLL-adopting household, it decreases when the network linkages run through women. These gender-differentiated effects are concentrated in households where the woman’s opinion about the technology is valued by the man and in non-poor households. The results highlight that social learning may interact with the socio-demographic characteristics of households in myriad ways to influence household technology adoption decisions, and that agricultural-based information interventions ought to also consider how information gets used in the household.

•Women and men access distinct agricultural information networks.•The effect of women’s and men’s networks on household’s technology demand differs.•Women may have access to information, but it may not be valued within households.•Studying social learning in heads’ networks may miss how households make decisions.

Women and men access distinct agricultural information networks.

The effect of women’s and men’s networks on household’s technology demand differs.

Women may have access to information, but it may not be valued within households.

Studying social learning in heads’ networks may miss how households make decisions.