This paper analyzes individual decisions to participate in an activity and the aggregation of those decisions when individuals gather information about the outcomes and choices of (a few) others in their social network. In this environment, aggregate participation rates are generally inefficient. Increasing the size of social networks does not necessarily increase efficiency and can lead to less efficient long-run outcomes. Both subsidies for participation and penalties for non-participation can increase participation rates, though not necessarily by the same amount. Punishing non-participation has much greater effects on participation rates than rewarding participation when current rates are very low. A program that provides youth with mentors who have participated themselves can increase participation rates, especially when those rates are low. Finally, communities plagued by the flight of successful participants will experience lower short- and long-run participation rates.
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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number
8979.
Length: Date of creation: Jun 2002 Date of revision: Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:8979
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Find related papers by JEL classification: D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty H0 - Public Economics - - General
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References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Other versions:
Marianne Bertrand & Erzo Luttmer & Sendhil Mullainathan, 1998.
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[Downloadable!]
Marianne Bertrand & Erzo F.P. Luttmer & Sendhil Mullainathan, 1999.
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