Abstract
This paper estimates the impacts of mobile broadband coverage on household consumption and poverty in Nigeria, the largest economy and mobile broadband market in Africa. The analysis exploits a unique dataset that integrates three waves of a nationally representative longitudinal household survey on living standards with information from Nigerian mobile operators on the deployment of mobile broadband (3G and 4G) coverage between 2010 and 2016. The estimates show that mobile broadband coverage had large and positive impacts on household consumption levels which increased over time, although at a decreasing rate. Mobile broadband coverage also reduces the proportion of households below the poverty line, driven by higher food and non-food consumption in rural households. These effects are mainly due to an increase in labor force participation and employment, particularly among women.
Highlights
A growing body of literature has documented the impacts of internet access on a host of economic outcomes.1 Some empirical evidence suggests that the internet—like other skill-biased technological innovations—tends to benefit more educated workers but may lead to displacement effects among their less educated peers
By showing that mobile broadband coverage can reduce poverty and improve consumer welfare, this study provides important evidence on the benefits of connectivity that policy makers can consider when seeking to achieve universal internet access
Turning to the different causal channels through which access to 3G/4G translates into greater welfare, we examine if mobile broadband coverage affects labor and employment outcomes as well as prices
Summary
A growing body of literature has documented the impacts of internet access on a host of economic outcomes. Some empirical evidence suggests that the internet—like other skill-biased technological innovations—tends to benefit more educated workers but may lead to displacement effects among their less educated peers. Some empirical evidence suggests that the internet—like other skill-biased technological innovations—tends to benefit more educated workers but may lead to displacement effects among their less educated peers. This mechanism has often been cited to explain why poverty reduction has been sluggish among the least developed areas of the world despite significant improvements in internet connectivity.. Individual coverage of mobile broadband is defined as the provision of 3G or 4G coverage, which enables high-speed access to the internet, and excludes 2G coverage as it only provides for limited internet browsing and applications
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