Peyton Young                                                                       

                                        

Peyton Young is James Meade Professor of Economics at Oxford University(FBA, FES), and Professorial Fellow of Nuffield College. His research is concerned with the diffusion of innovations. Why do some people adopt an innovation early on, and why do their choices lead others to adopt? Various explanations have been advanced in the literature, including inertia, conformity, contagion, and learning. It turns out that these factors lead to fundamentally different dynamical processes whose qualitative features can be tested empirically. He is currently studying the implications for specific historical cases, including the diffusion of hybrid corn among US farmers in the 1930s and 40s.