Dear all,

Our next seminar speaker at CEU is Deivy Houeix (Harvard).

Title: Asymmetric Information and Digital Technology Adoption: Evidence from Senegal

Abstract: Digital technologies promise large productivity gains but inherently generate data observability. I show that this feature is a double-edged sword: it reduces information frictions and raises efficiency, yet it threatens agents’ informational rents and deters adoption. Two field experiments in Senegal’s taxi industry reveal this trade-off. When transactions are observable, owners monitor effectively and driver effort rises, but adoption falls—especially among poorer, low-performing drivers. Removing observability nearly doubles adoption and, in a relational contract framework, increases total welfare. The findings highlight how the very feature that enhances efficiency of digital tools can also hinder their diffusion.

You are all cordially invited to his in-person seminar. 

Time and venue: February 18, Wednesday, 11.15am – 12.30pm, QS B-505, at CEU (51 Quellenstrasse, 1100 Vienna).

Speaker’s website: https://deivyhoueix.com/

Registration, till 12pm, the day before the seminar, is required at: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=E1nE2VN24kuSC72wOGOBhDPxLiYqs2FKjgPAVi1DSIpUQUtVN1BQTkxRR0FTQTBESDBBSU1DSDRNUS4u&route=shorturl

 

With questions, please contact the CEU seminar organizer, Timea L. Molnar, at molnartl@ceu.edu.