Can mobile phones improve farmer livelihoods? Panel data evidence from smallholder farm households in Sub-Saharan Africa
(2021) EKHS22 20211Department of Economic History
- Abstract
- Information asymmetries are abound in the agricultural process for many farmers in developing countries. At the same time, adoption of mobile phone technologies have been growing exponentially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study analyzes the potential for mobile phones to improve agricultural and economic outcomes for smallholder farm households. Using panel-data collected over three periods from 2002 to 2013, this study examines the impacts of mobile phones on smallholder farmers in six African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. The results from the fixed effects and random effects models show that mobile phone ownership is positively associated with agricultural productivity, prices received for maize,... (More)
- Information asymmetries are abound in the agricultural process for many farmers in developing countries. At the same time, adoption of mobile phone technologies have been growing exponentially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study analyzes the potential for mobile phones to improve agricultural and economic outcomes for smallholder farm households. Using panel-data collected over three periods from 2002 to 2013, this study examines the impacts of mobile phones on smallholder farmers in six African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. The results from the fixed effects and random effects models show that mobile phone ownership is positively associated with agricultural productivity, prices received for maize, sustainable agricultural practice adoption, household wealth, and food security. The findings are in line with the larger theoretical literature and provide confirmation to some existing empirical findings and contrast to others. The results further contribute a broader perspective to the current single country literature. Overall, the findings suggest that mobile phone technologies should continue to be invested in and researched, but other mechanisms are still in need of attention and research to fully take advantage of the theoretical benefits of mobile phones. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9054728
- author
- Bailey, Amanda LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- EKHS22 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- language
- English
- id
- 9054728
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-24 13:15:00
- date last changed
- 2021-06-24 13:15:00
@misc{9054728, abstract = {{Information asymmetries are abound in the agricultural process for many farmers in developing countries. At the same time, adoption of mobile phone technologies have been growing exponentially in Sub-Saharan Africa. This study analyzes the potential for mobile phones to improve agricultural and economic outcomes for smallholder farm households. Using panel-data collected over three periods from 2002 to 2013, this study examines the impacts of mobile phones on smallholder farmers in six African countries: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. The results from the fixed effects and random effects models show that mobile phone ownership is positively associated with agricultural productivity, prices received for maize, sustainable agricultural practice adoption, household wealth, and food security. The findings are in line with the larger theoretical literature and provide confirmation to some existing empirical findings and contrast to others. The results further contribute a broader perspective to the current single country literature. Overall, the findings suggest that mobile phone technologies should continue to be invested in and researched, but other mechanisms are still in need of attention and research to fully take advantage of the theoretical benefits of mobile phones.}}, author = {{Bailey, Amanda}}, language = {{eng}}, note = {{Student Paper}}, title = {{Can mobile phones improve farmer livelihoods? Panel data evidence from smallholder farm households in Sub-Saharan Africa}}, year = {{2021}}, }