Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa
Abstract
Access to and use of mobile telephony in sub-Saharan Africa has increased dramatically over the past decade. Mobile telephony has brought new possibilities to the continent. Across urban–rural and rich–poor divides, mobile phones connect individuals to individuals, information, markets, and services. These effects can be particularly dramatic in rural Africa, where in many places mobile phones have represented the first modern telecommunications infrastructure of any kind. Mobile phones have greatly reduced communication costs, thereby allowing individuals and firms to send and to obtain information quickly and cheaply on a variety of economic, social, and political topics. An emerging body of research shows that the reduction in communication costs associated with mobile phones has tangible economic benefits, improving agricultural and labor market efficiency and producer and consumer welfare in specific circumstances and countries. This paper first examines the evolution of mobile phone coverage and adoption in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. We then explore the main channels through which mobile phones can effect economic outcomes and appraise current evidence of its potential to improve economic development. We conclude with directions for future research and outline the necessary conditions for mobile phones to promote broader economic development in Africa.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Digital technologies offer dictators new ways to monitor and suppress opposition figures, spread misinformation and pro-regime propaganda, and restrict access to critical information.
“In essence, digital technologies offer dictators new ways to monitor and suppress opposition figures, spread misinformation and pro-regime propaganda, and restrict access to critical information.”
From Authoritarian collaboration and repression in the digital age: balancing foreign direct investment and control in internet infrastructure (2026) · cites this paper as [2]
Cites
Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem
Manski, C. F. (1993) · The Review of Economic Studies · doi:10.2307/2298123 · Cited by 6,209 · see citing works
Stigler, G. J. (1961) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/258464 · Cited by 5,263 · see citing works
Moffitt, R. (2009) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.99.2.660 · Cited by 4,888 · see citing works
Finance and Growth: Theory and Evidence
Levine, R. E. (2004) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w10766 · Cited by 3,743 · see citing works
Stigler, G. J. (1976) · Lecture notes in economics and mathematical systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-51565-1_86 · Cited by 3,340 · see citing works
Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana
Conley, T. G., & Udry, C. R. (2010) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.100.1.35 · Cited by 2,180 · see citing works
Learning by doing and learning from others: Human capital and technical change in agriculture
Foster, A. D., & Rosenzweig, M. R. (1995) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/601447 · Cited by 2,038 · see citing works
Jensen, R. (2007) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/qjec.122.3.879 · Cited by 1,886 · see citing works
Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach
Röller, L.-H., & Waverman, L. (2001) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.91.4.909 · Cited by 1,815 · see citing works
‘Do rural banks matter? Evidence from the Indian social banking experiment’
Burgess, R., & Pande, R. (2005) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/0002828054201242 · Cited by 1,480 · see citing works
Social Networks and Technology Adoption in Northern Mozambique
Bandiera, O., & Imran Rasul, A. (2006) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2006.01115.x · Cited by 1,366 · see citing works
Yang, D. (2008) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2008.02134.x · Cited by 1,326 · see citing works
Wealth, Weather Risk and the Composition and Profitability of Agricultural Investments
Rosenzweig, M. R., & Binswanger, H. P. (1993) · The Economic Journal · doi:10.2307/2234337 · Cited by 1,175 · see citing works
Aker, J. C. (2011) · Agricultural Economics · doi:10.1111/j.1574-0862.2011.00545.x · Cited by 1,101 · see citing works
Self-citationDoes the Internet Make Markets More Competitive? Evidence from the Life Insurance Industry
Brown, J. R., & Goolsbee, A. (2002) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/339714 · Cited by 839 · see citing works
Mobile Money: The Economics of M-PESA
Jack, W. G., & Suri, T. (2011) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w16721 · Cited by 805 · see citing works
The Power of TV: Cable Television and Women's Status in India <sup>*</sup>
Jensen, R., & Oster, E. (2009) · Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/qjec.2009.124.3.1057 · Cited by 792 · see citing works
Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger
Aker, J. C. (2010) · American Economic Journal Applied Economics · doi:10.1257/app.2.3.46 · Cited by 757 · see citing works
Self-citationResearch Approaches to Mobile Use in the Developing World: A Review of the Literature
Donner, J. (2008) · The Information Society · doi:10.1080/01972240802019970 · Cited by 743 · see citing works
Oligopolistic Pricing with Sequential Consumer Search
Stahl, D. O. (1989) · American Economic Review · Cited by 727 · see citing works
Muto, M., & Yamano, T. (2009) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.05.004 · Cited by 606 · see citing works
The Impact of Telecoms on Economic Growth in Developing Countries
Fuss, L. W. A. M. M. A. M. (2005) · Cited by 510 · see citing works
The role of the telephone in economic development
Hardy, A. P. (1980) · Telecommunications Policy · doi:10.1016/0308-5961(80)90044-0 · Cited by 464 · see citing works
A Simple Model of Equilibrium Price Dispersion
Reinganum, J. F. (1979) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/260796 · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Risk-sharing networks and insurance against illness
Weerdt, J. D., & Dercon, S. (2006) · Journal of Development Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2005.06.009 · Cited by 443 · see citing works
Autor, D. (2001) · The Journal of Economic Perspectives · doi:10.1257/jep.15.1.25 · Cited by 441 · see citing works
Information, Direct Access to Farmers, and Rural Market Performance in Central India
Goyal, A. (2010) · American Economic Journal Applied Economics · doi:10.1257/app.2.3.22 · Cited by 387 · see citing works
Mobile Phones and Economic Development: Evidence From the Fishing Industry in India
Abraham, R. (2007) · Information Technologies and International Development · doi:10.1162/itid.2007.4.1.5 · Cited by 366 · see citing works
Do Television and Radio Destroy Social Capital? Evidence from Indonesian Villages
Olken, B. A. (2009) · American Economic Journal Applied Economics · doi:10.1257/app.1.4.1 · Cited by 351 · see citing works
An analysis of the determinants and effects of ICT diffusion in developing countries
Baliamoune‐Lutz, M. (2003) · Information Technology for Development · doi:10.1002/itdj.1590100303 · Cited by 339 · see citing works
Overå, R. (2006) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.11.015 · Cited by 321 · see citing works
Household consumption smoothing through ethnic ties: evidence from Cote d'Ivoire
Grimard, F. (1997) · Journal of Development Economics · doi:10.1016/s0304-3878(97)00016-3 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
Yang, D. (2005) · World Bank, Washington, DC eBooks · doi:10.1596/1813-9450-3578 · Cited by 288 · see citing works
Information, Search, and Price DispersionPreprint
Baye, M. R., Morgan, J. W., & Scholten, P. A. (2006) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 286 · see citing works
Projecting the Economic Impact of the Internet
Litan, R. E., & Rivlin, A. M. (2001) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.91.2.313 · Cited by 265 · see citing works
THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR MOBILE BANKING IN AFRICA
Porteous, D. J. (2006) · Cited by 246 · see citing works
Morawczynski, O. (2009) · Journal of Eastern African Studies · doi:10.1080/17531050903273768 · Cited by 244 · see citing works
DETERMINANTS OF TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION: PEER EFFECTS IN MENSTRUAL CUP TAKE-UP
Oster, E., & Thornton, R. (2012) · Journal of the European Economic Association · doi:10.1111/j.1542-4774.2012.01090.x · Cited by 233 · see citing works
Can Mobile Phones Improve Learning? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Niger
Aker, J. C., Ksoll, C., & Lybbert, T. J. (2012) · American Economic Journal Applied Economics · doi:10.1257/app.4.4.94 · Cited by 203 · see citing works
Self-citationDesigning Mobile Money Services Lessons from M-PESA
Mas, I., & Morawczynski, O. (2009) · Innovations Technology Governance Globalization · doi:10.1162/itgg.2009.4.2.77 · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Poor People Using Mobile Financial Services : Observations on Customer Usage and Impact from M-PESA
Morawczynski, O., & Pickens, M. (2009) · World Bank, Washington, DC eBooks · doi:10.1596/9492 · Cited by 192 · see citing works
Buys, P., Dasgupta, S., Thomas, T. S., et al. (2009) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2009.01.011 · Cited by 174 · see citing works
The World's Most Deprived: Characteristics and Causes of Extreme Poverty and Hunger
Ahmed, A., Hill, R. V., Smith, L. C., Wiesmann, D., & Frankenberger, T. (2007) · AgEcon Search (University of Minnesota, USA) · doi:10.22004/ag.econ.42252 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
MacMinn, R. D. (1980) · Journal of Political Economy · doi:10.1086/260867 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Telecommunications Reform, Internet Use and Mobile Phone Adoption in the Developing World
Howard, P. N., & Mazaheri, N. (2009) · World Development · doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2008.12.005 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Mobile Phones: The New Talking Drums of Everyday Africa
de Bruijn, M., Nyamnjoh, F. B., & Brinkman, I. (2009) · Langaa RPCIG eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.ctvk3gmgv · Cited by 103 · see citing works
Determinants of Technology Adoption: Private Value and Peer Effects in Menstrual Cup Take-Up
Oster, E. F., & Thornton, R. L. (2009) · National Bureau of Economic Research · doi:10.3386/w14828 · Cited by 83 · see citing works
A New Concept for Medical Imaging Centered on Cellular Phone Technology
Granot, Y., Ivorra, A., & Rubinsky, B. (2008) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002075 · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Digitally networked technology in Kenya's 2007-2008 post-election crisis
Goldstein, J., & Rotich, J. (2008) · Wajibu · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Mobile cellular communications in the Southern African region
Minges, M. (1999) · Telecommunications Policy · doi:10.1016/s0308-5961(99)00039-7 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
van Etten, J. (2011) · IDS Bulletin · doi:10.1111/j.1759-5436.2011.00240.x · Cited by 63 · see citing works
What Factors are Driving China's Mobile Diffusion?
Kshetri, N., & Cheung, M. K. (2002) · Electronic Markets · doi:10.1080/101967802753433236 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
Global connectivity through wireless network technology: a possible solution for poor countries
Kamssu, A. J. (2005) · International Journal of Mobile Communications · doi:10.1504/ijmc.2005.006583 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Exporting Christianity: Governance and doctrine in the globalization of US denominations
Hanson, G., & Xiang, C. (2013) · Journal of International Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jinteco.2013.08.002 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Global Anti‐Money Laundering Standards and Developing Economies: The Regulation of Mobile Money
Vlcek, W. (2011) · Development Policy Review · doi:10.1111/j.1467-7679.2011.00540.x · Cited by 23 · see citing works
International and Intranational Market Segmentation and Integration in West Africa
Aker, J. C., Klein, M. W., & O’Connell, S. A. (2015) · Works - Scholarship, Research, & Creative Expression (Swarthmore College) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana
Conley, T. G., & Udry, C. R. (2010) · American Economic Review · doi:10.1257/aer.100.1.35 · Cited by 2,180 · see citing works
Baptista, G., & Oliveira, T. (2015) · Computers in Human Behavior · doi:10.1016/j.chb.2015.04.024 · Cited by 922 · see citing works
Connecting alone: Smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being
Rotondi, V., Stanca, L., & Tomasuolo, M. (2017) · Journal of Economic Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.joep.2017.09.001 · Cited by 251 · see citing works
Adenle, A. A., Azadi, H., & Arbiol, J. (2015) · Journal of Environmental Management · doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2015.05.040 · Cited by 173 · see citing works
Chen, H., Chai, Y., Dong, L., Niu, W., & Zhang, P. (2018) · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · doi:10.2196/mhealth.8998 · Cited by 161 · see citing works
Linnemayr, S., Huang, H., Luoto, J., Kambugu, A., Thirumurthy, H., Haberer, J. E., Wagner, G., & Mukasa, B. (2017) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2017.304089 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Kochanova, A., Hasnain, Z., & Larson, B. (2020) · The World Bank Economic Review · doi:10.1093/wber/lhx024 · Cited by 116 · see citing works
Little, A., Medhanyie, A., Yebyo, H., Spigt, M., Dinant, G.-J., & Blanco, R. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0077563 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Siedner, M. J., Haberer, J. E., Bwana, M. B., Ware, N. C., & Bangsberg, D. R. (2012) · BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making · doi:10.1186/1472-6947-12-56 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Digital Health and Inequalities in Access to Health Services in Bangladesh: Mixed Methods Study
Ahmed, T., Rizvi, S. J. R., Rasheed, S., Iqbal, M., Bhuiya, A., Standing, H., Bloom, G., & Waldman, L. (2020) · JMIR mHealth and uHealth · doi:10.2196/16473 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Preventing dengue through mobile phones: Evidence from a field experiment in Peru
Dammert, A. C., Galdo, J. C., & Galdo, V. (2014) · Journal of Health Economics · doi:10.1016/j.jhealeco.2014.02.002 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Can mobile phones help control neglected tropical diseases? Experiences from Tanzania
Madon, S., Amaguru, J. O., Malecela, M. N., & Michael, E. (2014) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.11.036 · Cited by 52 · see citing works
Agarwal, A., & Assenova, V. A. (2024) · Organization Science · doi:10.1287/orsc.2022.16562 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Optimizing Network Connectivity for Mobile Health Technologies in sub-Saharan Africa
Siedner, M. J., Lankowski, A., Musinga, D., Jackson, J., Muzoora, C., Hunt, P. W., Martin, J. N., Bangsberg, D. R., & Haberer, J. E. (2012) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045643 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Freyburg, T., Garbe, L., & Wavre, V. (2023) · The Review of International Organizations · doi:10.1007/s11558-022-09483-z · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Garbe, L., Maerz, S. F., & Freyburg, T. (2026) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2024.2442377 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Factors influencing Parish Revolving Fund lead time under Uganda's Parish Development Model
Nuwagaba, S. S., Mbowa, S., Nakkazi, S. C., & Nakabiri, S. (2026) · Development Policy Review · doi:10.1111/dpr.70089
- Authors
- Aker, J. C., & Mbiti, I. M.
- Affiliations
- Tufts University (US)
- Southern Methodist University (US)
- ORCID
- Aker, Jenny C
- Venue
- Journal of Economic Perspectives
- Publisher
- American Economic Association
- Published
- 2010-08-01
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 207-232
- ISSN
- 0895-3309 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W3122763283
- Cited by
- 2,216
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 276 · 2025: 216 · 2024: 173 · 2023: 133 · 2022: 130 · 2021: 168 · 2020: 168 · 2019: 145 · 2018: 137 · 2017: 131 · 2016: 92 · 2015: 128 · 2014: 112 · 2013: 92 · 2012: 74
- FWCI
- 168.03
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Journal of Economic Perspectives (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Media Technology › ICT Impact and Policies
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Economic Growth and Development
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › ICT in Developing Communities
- Keywords
- mobile devices, mobile telephony, economic development, sub-Saharan Africa, communication overhead, rural Africa, mobile phone adoption, agricultural efficiency, labor market efficiency, welfare effects, access to information, telecommunications infrastructure
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
