The impact of mobile phone penetration on African inequality

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to complement theoretical and qualitative literature with empirical evidence on the income-redistributive effect of mobile phone penetration in 52 African countries. Design/methodology/approach – Robust ordinary least squares and two stage least squares empirical strategies are employed. Findings – The findings suggest that mobile penetration is pro-poor, as it has a positive income equality effect. Social implications – “Mobile phone”-oriented poverty reduction channels are discussed. Originality/value – It deviates from mainstream country-specific and microeconomic survey-based approaches in the literature and provides the first macroeconomic assessment of the “mobile phone”-inequality nexus.