Enabling universal internet access is considered an important step in achieving prosperity for developing countries. In line with this goal, sub-Saharan Africa’s digital environment is changing dramatically with rapidly growing mobile and broadband internet networks.
However, despite enthusiasm about the Internet’s potential role in promoting growth and fighting poverty across the developing world, the impact of mobile broadband Internet on welfare, particularly among the poor and vulnerable in sub-Saharan Africa, is There is limited evidence for this.
Mobile Broadband Internet, Poverty and Labor Outcomes in Tanzania aims to answer the following questions of particular importance in Africa, where the majority of people have access to the Internet only through their mobile phones:
- How will increasing mobile broadband penetration affect poverty, household consumption, and labor market outcomes in developing countries?
- Who will benefit from improved mobile internet coverage?
To answer these questions, this study conducts three nationally representative longitudinal household surveys of living standards in Tanzania and leverages geospatial information on mobile broadband coverage deployment from 2008 to 2013. Did. This shows that 3G population coverage has more than doubled from 16%. up to 35 percent.
Mobile broadband internet reduces poverty
By matching households’ locations in the panel survey with mobile Internet coverage maps, this study pinpoints when households began receiving mobile Internet coverage and determines the extent of mobile Internet network coverage. We empirically tested whether gradual deployment contributed to regional change. Welfare and poverty reduction.
1. 3G mobile broadband reduces poverty
Households in areas covered by 3G saw per capita household consumption increase by 7 to 11 percentage points. However, the impact on consumption only became statistically significant after more than a year of interviews, indicating that these “digital dividends” will take time to materialize. Mobile broadband penetration has also reduced the proportion of households living below the national poverty line by 5 to 7 percentage points.
2. Mobile broadband increases access to employment
For working-age adults, living in a household with a mobile broadband network means having access to new and different employment opportunities. These in turn can have a positive impact on household consumption and reduce poverty levels. One to two years after receiving 3G, more people entered the labor force, and wage employment and non-agricultural self-employment increased by his 3 to 8 percentage points.
Agricultural employment also fell by 4 to 9 percentage points. The finding that 3G coverage facilitates the transition from agricultural to non-agricultural employment is important, given that agricultural employment in LMICs is often associated with low productivity and low incomes.
3. Educated young men benefit the most from 3G services
Younger, more educated men tended to benefit most through higher labor force participation rates and wage employment. It is worth noting that this group is more likely to use his Internet on a mobile already after taking out insurance.
Unfortunately, women are less likely than men to own a mobile phone, especially a smartphone, or use mobile internet, and there are significant barriers to mobile technology due to social norms and structural inequalities. are often faced with. However, skilled women with at least primary education also benefited from the shift to non-agricultural employment, although women’s overall labor force participation did not increase.
4. Mobile broadband barriers need to be addressed
Living in areas covered by mobile broadband can improve people’s lives, increasing wage employment and reducing poverty in the long term, but some groups still face significant barriers. I am.
More needs to be done to ensure access to mobile internet, especially for women, people in rural areas and people with low literacy and low incomes. This includes making internet-enabled devices and data more affordable and providing mobile digital skills training so everyone can take advantage of the economic opportunities the internet offers.
A lightly edited version of Mobile Broadband Internet, Poverty and Labor Outcomes in Tanzania, and the Impact of Mobile Broadband Coverage on Poverty in Tanzania
