Is Mobile Money Changing Rural Africa? Evidence from a Field Experiment

Arbeitspapier

Rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa are typically underserved by financial services. We measure the economic impact of introducing mobile money for the first time in rural villages of Mozambique using a randomized control trial. This intervention led to consumption smoothing through increased transfers as a response to both geo-referenced village-level floods and household-level idiosyncratic shocks. Importantly, we find that the availability of mobile money increased migration out of rural areas, where we observe lower agricultural activity and investment. Our work illustrates how financial inclusion can accelerate African urbanization and structural change while improving welfare in rural areas.

Angaben zum Objekt

• Sprache: Englisch

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: Series: CReAM Discussion Paper Series ; No. 16/21

Klassifikation und Themen

• Klassifikation: Wirtschaft ; Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development ; Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration ; Economic Development: Financial Markets; Saving and Capital Investment; Corporate Finance and Governance ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Financial Institutions and Services: General ; Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics: Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population; Neighborhood Characteristics
• Thema: mobile money ; migration ; remittances ; technology adoption ; insurance ; consumption smoothing ; investment ; savings ; Mozambique ; Africa

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Geistige Schöpfung
• (wer): Batista, Catia ; Vicente, Pedro C.
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wer): Centre for Research & Analysis of Migration (CReAM), Department of Economics, University College London
• (wo): London
• (wann): 2021

Weitere Informationen

• Letzte Aktualisierung: 12.11.0003, 18:32 MEZ