Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/201414 
Year of Publication: 
2016
Series/Report no.: 
DIW Discussion Papers No. 1525
Version Description: 
November 9, 2016, Updated Version
Publisher: 
Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW), Berlin
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the impact of peer observation on consumption decisions of rural households in Thailand using a lab-in-the-field experiment. We find that observing groups show lower within group standard deviation. Thus, we provide evidence for conformity. Further, we find that individual's consumption choice is influenced by the group choice controlling for large number of individual, household, and village characteristics. Concerning the mechanisms, we observe that unfamiliarity of the consumption good is counteracted by peer effects. We further show that the consumption choice is influenced by how many people made the same decision previously, but not by who made that decision.
Subjects: 
Consumption
Peer Effects
Conformity
JEL: 
D12
C21
C92
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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