Although team incentives are seen as powerful tools to leverage the power of social effects, they have rarely been used to encourage desirable behaviours outside firms. In this study, we partner with a micro-finance organisation in El Salvador to encourage group loan recipients  to undertake a free health check-up for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). This is in a context where CVDs are responsible for most deaths and disability in adults, despite the existence of effective preventive treatments. We implement a cluster-randomised experiment with more than 1,600 group members and compare the effectiveness of team vs. individual incentives, to test if one can leverage the power of social effects in existing networks to increase the individual demand for preventive care.

Funding: Medical Research Council (UK)

PUBLICATIONS: 

Stronger Together: Group incentives and the demand for prevention (with C. Riumallo-Herl)  Appendices