Mobile money, market transactions, and household income in rural Kenya



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https://tapipedia.org/sites/default/files/globalfood_dp22.pdf
DOI: 
10.22004/ag.econ.155847
ISSN: 
2192-3248
Provider: 
Licensing of resource: 
Rights subject to owner's permission
Type: 
discussion paper
Author(s): 
Kikulwe E. M.
Fischer E.
Qaim M.
Description: 

Mobile phone based money services have spread rapidly in many developing countries. We analyze micro level impacts using panel data from smallholder farmers in Kenya. Mobile money use has a large positive net impact on household income. One important pathway is through remittances, which contribute to income directly but also help to reduce risk and liquidity constraints, thus promoting agricultural commercialization. Mobile money users apply more purchased inputs, market a larger proportion of their output, and have higher farm profits. These results suggest that mobile money can help to overcome some of the important market access constraints of smallholder farmers.

Publication year: 
2013
Keywords: 
mobile banking
remittances
market transactions
Africa
Kenya
panel data analysis