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Can a Trusted Messenger Change Behavior When Information Is Plentiful? Evidence from the First Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic in West Bengal

Abhijit Banerjee¹; Marcella Alsan²; Emily Breza³; Arun G. Chandrasekhar⁴; Abhijit Chowdury⁵; Esther Duflo⁶; Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham⁷; Benjamin A. Olken⁸

¹ Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected] · ² John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected] · ³ Department of Economics, Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected] · ⁴ Department of Economics, Stanford University and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected] · ⁵ John C. Martin Centre for Liver Research and Innovations [email protected] · ⁶ Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected] · ⁷ School of Management, Yale University [email protected] · ⁸ Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the National Bureau of Economic Research [email protected]

Can information from a credible messenger shift behavior in an information-saturated environment? In a randomized controlled trial involving twenty-eight million individuals in West Bengal, we find that SMS-delivered video messages containing information about COVID-19 symptoms and health-preserving behaviors recorded by a credible messenger increased adherence to targeted and non-targeted preventive behaviors, measured by two objective measures (symptoms reported to a health worker, and phone usage at home), as well as self-reported behaviors. We find large spillovers onto non-targeted recipients. Credible light-touch messaging can play an important role in crisis response, even when similar information is widely available.

DOI

10.1162/rest_a_01500

Pages

1-33

Language

en

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