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Transmission of information within transnational social networks: a field experiment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2025

Natalia Candelo ,
Rachel T. A. Croson  and
Catherine Eckel
Natalia Candelo*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Queens College CUNY, 65-30 Kissena Boulevard, Queens, NY 11367, USA
Rachel T. A. Croson*
Affiliation:
College of Social Science, Michigan State University, 509 E. Circle Drive, Room 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
Catherine Eckel*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Texas A&M University, 4228 TAMU, College Station, TX 77483-4228, USA
*
ncandelolondono@qc.cuny.edu
crosonra@msu.edu
ceckel@tamu.edu
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Abstract

Several studies have shown a relationship between the stocks of migrants and country-level investment in the home country; however the mechanism through which this relationship operates is still unexplored. We use a field experiment in which participants who are recent immigrants send information about risky decisions to others in their social network in their home country. The results demonstrate how this information influences decisions in the home country. We find that the advice given by family members and decisions made by friends significantly affects an individual’s risky decision-making.

Keywords

InformationSocial networksRiskImmigrationField experiments

JEL classification

C91: Laboratory, Individual Behavior H4: Publicly Provided Goods C93: Field Experiments
Type
Original Paper
Information
Experimental Economics , Volume 21 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 905 - 923
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Economic Science Association

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Footnotes

Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10683-017-9557-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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