Mentors or Teachers? Microenterprise Training in Kenya
通过随机实验发现，肯尼亚贫民窟缺乏经验的女性微型企业主接受社区内成功企业家的指导后利润平均提高20%，而正规商业培训虽改变经营实践却无利润效果，表明本地化具体知识比抽象通用信息更有效。
We use a randomized controlled trial to demonstrate that inexperienced female microenterprise owners in a Kenyan slum benefit from mentorship by an experienced entrepreneur in the same community. Mentorship increases profits by 20 percent on average with initially large effects that fade as matches dissolve. We conduct a formal business education intervention, which has no effect on profits despite changes in business practice. Our results demonstrate that missing information is a salient barrier to profitability, but the type of information matters: access to the localized, specific knowledge of mentors increases profit while abstract, general information from the class does not.