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ICT for financial access: Mobile money and the financial behavior of rural households in Uganda

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  • Ggombe Kasim Munyegera
  • Tomoya Matsumoto

Abstract

Mobile money usage has expanded tremendously in Uganda, reaching over 40% of the adult population within 8 years of inception. We use data from 820 rural households to examine the effect of this financial innovation on their financial behavior. We find that using mobile money services increases the likelihood of saving, borrowing, and receiving remittances. The corresponding amounts of each service are also significantly higher among mobile money user households relative to their nonuser counterparts. We demonstrate that the mechanism of this impact is a reduction in transaction costs—a combination of transportation fares and service charges—associated with household proximity to mobile money agents. To illustrate the convenience of service proximity, we demonstrate that the household's likelihood and frequency of using mobile money services reduces with the distance to the nearest mobile money agent. This distance variable is then used to instrument for the potentially endogenous mobile money adoption. We finally perform propensity score matching to reinforce the robustness of our results; our results are consistent across all these specifications. The results imply that developing and enhancing access to and usage of pro†poor financial products could be a first step to achieving greater financial inclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Ggombe Kasim Munyegera & Tomoya Matsumoto, 2018. "ICT for financial access: Mobile money and the financial behavior of rural households in Uganda," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 45-66, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:22:y:2018:i:1:p:45-66
    DOI: 10.1111/rode.12327
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    Cited by:

    1. Puneet Vatsa & Junpeng Li & Phong Quoc Luu & Julio Cesar Botero‐R, 2023. "Internet use and consumption diversity: Evidence from rural China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1287-1308, August.
    2. Frederick Kwesi Blay & Livingstone Divine Caesar, 2022. "The adoption of mobile money technology in emerging markets: a contingency analysis from Ghana," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-26, September.
    3. Feilong Weng & Xuan Liu & Xuexi Huo, 2023. "Impact of Internet Use on Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Investment: A New Perspective of Access to Credit," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-13, January.
    4. Yan Mei & Nuoyan Lin, 2023. "Internet Use and the Happiness of Rural Residents: The Role of Education and Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Johnen, Constantin & Parlasca, Martin & Mußhoff, Oliver, 2023. "Mobile money adoption in Kenya: The role of mobile money agents," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    6. Miyajima, Ken, 2022. "Mobile phone ownership and welfare: Evidence from South Africa’s household survey," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    7. Olukorede Abiona & Martin Foureaux Koppensteiner, 2022. "Financial Inclusion, Shocks, and Poverty: Evidence from the Expansion of Mobile Money in Tanzania," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 57(2), pages 435-464.
    8. Djahini-Afawoubo, Dossè Mawussi & Couchoro, Mawuli Kodjovi & Atchi, Fambari Kokou, 2023. "Does mobile money contribute to reducing multidimensional poverty?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    9. Long Yang & Haiyang Lu & Sangui Wang & Meng Li, 2021. "Mobile Internet Use and Multidimensional Poverty: Evidence from A Household Survey in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 1065-1086, December.
    10. Qiu, Christina M., 2022. "Regionalized liquidity: A cross-country analysis of mobile money deployment and inflation in developing economies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    11. Qianqian Chen & Chao Zhang & Ruifa Hu & Shengyang Sun, 2022. "Can Information from the Internet Improve Grain Technical Efficiency? New Evidence from Rice Production in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-16, December.
    12. Ehret, Michael & Olaniyan, Rotimi, 2023. "Banking the unbanked. Constitutive rules and the institutionalization of mobile payment systems in Nigeria," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    13. Leo Van Hove & Antoine Dubus, 2019. "M-PESA and Financial Inclusion in Kenya: Of Paying Comes Saving?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, January.
    14. Zheng, Hongyun & Ma, Wanglin & Wang, Fang & Li, Gucheng, 2021. "Does internet use improve technical efficiency of banana production in China? Evidence from a selectivity-corrected analysis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    15. Wanglin Ma & Puneet Vatsa & Hongyun Zheng & Emmanuel Donkor & Victor Owusu, 2023. "Does Adoption of Information and Communication Technology Reduce Objective and Subjective Well-Being Inequality? Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 55-77, September.
    16. Richard Chamboko, 2024. "Digital financial services adoption: a retrospective time-to-event analysis approach," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 10(1), pages 1-27, December.
    17. Nawab Khan & Ram L. Ray & Hazem S. Kassem & Farhat Ullah Khan & Muhammad Ihtisham & Shemei Zhang, 2022. "Does the Adoption of Mobile Internet Technology Promote Wheat Productivity? Evidence from Rural Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    18. Joseph Mawejje & Paul Lakuma, 2019. "Macroeconomic effects of Mobile money: evidence from Uganda," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 5(1), pages 1-20, December.
    19. Zou, Baoling & Mishra, Ashok K., 2022. "Engaging Information Technology in Farmland Rental Market: An Empirical Study from Rural China," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322265, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    20. Ni Zhuo & Baozhi Li & Qibiao Zhu & Chen Ji, 2023. "Smartphone‐based agricultural extension services and farm incomes: Evidence from Zhejiang Province in China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1383-1402, August.
    21. Wanglin Ma & Huanguang Qiu & Dil Bahadur Rahut, 2023. "Rural development in the digital age: Does information and communication technology adoption contribute to credit access and income growth in rural China?," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1421-1444, August.
    22. Ma, Wanglin & Qiu, Huanguang & Fan, Yubing & Zhou, Xiaoshi, 2020. "The joint effects of ICT adoption and access to credit on household income in China," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304431, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    23. Ajay Purohit & Gaurav Chopra & Parshuram G. Dangwal, 2022. "Measuring the Effectiveness of the Project Management Information System (PMIS) on the Financial Wellness of Rural Households in the Hill Districts of Uttarakhand, India: An IS-FW Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-29, October.
    24. Wanglin Ma & Peng Nie & Pei Zhang & Alan Renwick, 2020. "Impact of Internet use on economic well‐being of rural households: Evidence from China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 503-523, May.

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