Wikipedia Matters

Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2021, 1– 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12421

46 Pages Posted: 3 Oct 2017 Last revised: 11 Mar 2021

See all articles by Marit Hinnosaar

Toomas Hinnosaar

University of Nottingham - School of Economics

Olga Slivko

Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University

Date Written: July 14, 2019

Abstract

We document a causal impact of online user-generated information on real-world economic outcomes. In particular, we conduct a randomized field experiment to test whether additional content on Wikipedia pages about cities affects tourists' choices of overnight visits. Our treatment of adding information to Wikipedia increases overnight stays in treated cities compared to non-treated cities. The impact is largely driven by improvements to shorter and relatively incomplete pages on Wikipedia. Our findings highlight the value of content in digital public goods for informing individual choices.

Keywords: Field Experiment, User-Generated Content, Wikipedia, Tourism Industry

JEL Classification: C93, H41, L17, L82, L83, L86

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Hinnosaar, Marit and Hinnosaar, Toomas and Kummer, Michael and Slivko, Olga, Wikipedia Matters (July 14, 2019). Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 2021, 1– 13. https://doi.org/10.1111/jems.12421, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3046400 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3046400