Dual misbeliefs and technology adoption: Evidence from air purifiers in Bangladesh

The seminar will discuss a multi-phase field experiment to examine the adoption of air purifiers in Bangladesh.

Dhaka, Bangladesh, consistently ranks as one of the world's most polluted cities, yet fewer than 1% of middle-class households own an air purifier. Why don't these households, who can afford air purifiers, adopt them despite the extremely high levels of air pollution? We find that while indoor air is nearly as polluted as outdoor air, households believe indoor air is much cleaner. Furthermore, although air purifiers are highly effective at removing pollutants, households are uncertain about their effectiveness. Due to these misbeliefs the average willingness to pay for an air purifier is less than a tenth of the retail cost. To address these misconceptions, we conducted a multi-phase field experiment by providing air monitors and purifiers to households. Those receiving air monitors realized that their indoor air was more polluted than those without monitors, but this did not increase their willingness to pay for purifiers. Similarly, providing air purifiers reduced uncertainty about their effectiveness, yet households seldom used them—even when compensated for electricity costs. However, households that received both monitors and purifiers significantly increased both their usage and valuation of the purifiers. Our findings suggest that correcting misperceptions about both the severity of the problem and the effectiveness of the solution is necessary to boost the adoption and use of certain preventive health technologies.

Speaker: Martin Mattsson (National University of Singapore)