Mobile Phone Coverage and Producer Markets : Evidence from West Africa

Aker, Jenny C. ; Fafchamps, Marcel

World Bank Group, Washington, DC

关键词: ACCESS TO INFORMATION;    ACCESS TO INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY;    AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY;    ARBITRAGE;    AVERAGE PRICE;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-6986
RP-ID  :  WPS6986

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Mobile phone coverage has expandedconsiderably throughout the developing world, particularlywithin sub-Saharan Africa. Existing evidence suggests thatincreased access to information technology has improvedagricultural market efficiency for consumer markets andcertain commodities, but there is less evidence of itsimpact on producer markets. Building on the work of Aker(2010), this paper estimates the impact of mobile phonecoverage on producer price dispersion for three commoditiesin Niger. The results suggest that mobile phone coveragereduces spatial producer price dispersion by 6 percent forcowpea, a semi-perishable commodity. These effects arestrongest for remote markets and during certain periods ofthe year. The introduction of mobile phone coverage has noeffect on producer price dispersion for millet and sorghum,two staple grains that are less perishable and are commonlystored by farmers. There are no impacts of mobile phonecoverage on traders' gross margins or producer pricelevels, but mobile phone coverage is associated with areduction in the intra-annual price variation for cowpea.These results are potentially explained by the fact thatfarmers engage in greater storage for storable commoditiessuch as millet and sorghum.