Information, Direct Access To Farmers, And Rural Market Performance In Central India

Abstract

The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out quickly, even if the presentations are less than fully polished. The papers carry the names of the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper are entirely those of the authors. They do not necessarily represent the views of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/World Bank and its affiliated organizations, or those of the Executive Directors of the World Bank or the governments they represent.

Information and Communications Technology, Agricultural Profitability and Child Labor in Rural Peru

“…For example, Jensen () reports an increase of 9% in average profits of fishermen in Kerala (India) as a result of cell phone coverage, while Aker () reports a 29% increase in profits of grain traders in Niger after cell phone rollout. Also, Goyal () reports a 33% net gain in farmers' profits after the introduction of internet kiosks that provided real time information of soybean market prices. Therefore, our estimates are situated in between previous estimated effects.…”

“…Previous literature has studied the economic effects of ICT using the introduction of mobile phone coverage (Aker, ; Aker and Fafchamps, ; Beuermann et al, ; Fafchamps and Minten, ; Jensen, ; Muto and Yamano, ; Svensson and Yanagizawa, ) and internet kiosks (Goyal, ). These studies concentrate on market outcomes, with a specific focus on price dispersion, market performance and profitability.…”

Broadband Internet, Firm Performance, and Worker Welfare: Evidence and Mechanism

“…More broadly, a large strand of literature examines the effectiveness of ICT programs on development. Previous studies have largely focused on the consequences of investments in computers (Borghans and Ter Weel ; Brynjolfsson and Hitt ; Dolton and Makepeace ; Goos, Manning, and Salomons ; Stiroh ) and the internet (Abramovsky and Griffith ; Ater and Orlov ; Bauernschuster, Falck, and Woessmann ; Brown and Goolsbee ; Freund and Weinhold ; Gavazza, Nardotto, and Valletti ; Goyal ; Miner ; Zentner ).…”

Impacts of Distance Education on Agricultural Performance and Household Income: Micro-Evidence from Peri-Urban Districts in Beijing

“…ICT-based extension projects can only solve some of the barriers faced by farmers; others depend on complement factors, such as farmers' endowment conditions, market participation threshold, infrastructures, and institutional or cultural context [28][29][30]. If the aim of the project is to narrow the gap in agriculture productivity between poor and wealthy farmers, technology extension services packaged with skill training, input support, and other assistance could be a consideration in the future.…”