TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Gangadharan, Lata
AU  - Maitra, Pushkar
AU  - Vecci, Joseph
AU  - Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan
AU  - Villeval, Marie Claire
        TI  - Do Advisors’ Status and Identity Shape Adherence to Advice?
        PY  - 2025/Nov/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18280
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18280
        AB  - This study examines whether adherence to advice depends on an advisor’s identity and status beyond message content. Using a survey experiment with over 3000 farmers in India, we find that individuals are more likely to follow advice in a social dilemma game when it comes from high-status or in-group advisors, even when the advice diverges from prevailing norms. Admired role models can attenuate the influence of status and identity, though their beneficial effect is not universal. Our experimental findings align with evidence from an agricultural advisory program involving the same participant sample, highlighting the broader real-world relevance of these patterns.
        KW  - group identity
KW  - status
KW  - social learning
KW  - advice
KW  - survey experiment
        ER  -