Seminar: Eric Verhoogen (Columbia University)

Eric is a Professor of Economics and of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. His main research area is industrial development -- firms, innovation, productivity, trade, industrial policy, labor markets in developing countries. Several of his papers have been concerned with the process of quality upgrading -- why and how firms raise quality when they sell to richer countries, and the consequences for labor and other input markets. His work has been published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the American Economic Review, the Review of Economic Studies, and other journals. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Title: "Social Learning among Urban Manufacturing Firms: Energy-Efficient Motors in Bangladesh"

Authors: Ritam Chaurey, Gaurav Nayyar, Siddharth Sharma, Eric Verhoogen

Abstract: Knowledge spillovers among firms have long been seen as central to the growth and development process but are difficult to estimate cleanly. We randomly allocated an energy-efficient type of motor -- called a servo motor -- among leather-goods firms in Dhaka, Bangladesh and tracked adoption, beliefs about energy savings, and willingness to pay for the new motor. We find robust evidence of spillovers from nearby firms, on both adoption behavior and beliefs. We find little evidence of spillovers within firms' communication networks.