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Mobile money, transfers and social networks: A field study of the use of Tigo Money in Guatemala

Michaelsson, Adam LU (2016) NEKH01 20152
Department of Economics
Abstract
This paper analyses the impact mobile money service Tigo Money has on households’ transfer behavior within social networks. To be precise, the paper investigates if household that use Tigo Money 1) send and receive more transfers, 2) if they do this with an expanded network, and 3) if they send and receive more transfers for emergency reasons, compared to non-using households. To answer these questions, a survey was conducted in two municipalities in Guatemala. The data was analyzed using OLS estimations.
The results show a significant positive correlation between the use of Tigo Money and the dependent variables, resulting in increased transfer activity among these households. These findings are in line with previous research, and... (More)
This paper analyses the impact mobile money service Tigo Money has on households’ transfer behavior within social networks. To be precise, the paper investigates if household that use Tigo Money 1) send and receive more transfers, 2) if they do this with an expanded network, and 3) if they send and receive more transfers for emergency reasons, compared to non-using households. To answer these questions, a survey was conducted in two municipalities in Guatemala. The data was analyzed using OLS estimations.
The results show a significant positive correlation between the use of Tigo Money and the dependent variables, resulting in increased transfer activity among these households. These findings are in line with previous research, and indicate that Tigo Money-using households should handle negative income shocks better. A sensitivity analysis was performed. The models perform worse for the rural subsample, but the results are robust across all estimations for urban and semi-rural subsamples. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Michaelsson, Adam LU
supervisor
organization
course
NEKH01 20152
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
Tigo Money, mobile money, transfers, informal insurance, social networks
language
English
id
8596950
date added to LUP
2016-02-11 15:03:14
date last changed
2016-02-11 15:03:14
@misc{8596950,
  abstract     = {{This paper analyses the impact mobile money service Tigo Money has on households’ transfer behavior within social networks. To be precise, the paper investigates if household that use Tigo Money 1) send and receive more transfers, 2) if they do this with an expanded network, and 3) if they send and receive more transfers for emergency reasons, compared to non-using households. To answer these questions, a survey was conducted in two municipalities in Guatemala. The data was analyzed using OLS estimations. 
The results show a significant positive correlation between the use of Tigo Money and the dependent variables, resulting in increased transfer activity among these households. These findings are in line with previous research, and indicate that Tigo Money-using households should handle negative income shocks better. A sensitivity analysis was performed. The models perform worse for the rural subsample, but the results are robust across all estimations for urban and semi-rural subsamples.}},
  author       = {{Michaelsson, Adam}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Mobile money, transfers and social networks: A field study of the use of Tigo Money in Guatemala}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}