Improving health outcomes by choosing better doctors: Evidence of social learning about doctor quality from rural Tanzania∗

Evidence from Tanzania shows that households gather information about health care episodes experienced by their neighbors and that this information is used to improve their understanding of the quality of health care providers in their area, leading them to choose better providers when they suffer from illnesses that are responsive to quality, and improving health outcomes. We show that households are more likely to recall the illnesses of their neighbors if those illnesses resulted in visits to doctors who are new, and about whom, therefore, little is known. In addition, households adjust their behavior as they learn more about new doctors, and are more likely to visit good doctors (and less likely to visit bad doctors) when they suffer from illnesses that are responsive to quality. Importantly, households exposed to more information about the quality of doctors in their area are more likely to be cured and more likely to visit high quality providers. JEL Classification: I1, O1, O2