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Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda

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  • Caldarola, Bernardo
  • Grazzi, Marco
  • Occelli, Martina
  • Sanfilippo, Marco

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between mobile internet, employment and structural transformation in Rwanda. Thanks to its ability to enable access to a wide range of ICT technologies, internet coverage has the potential to affect the dynamics and the composition of employment significantly. To demonstrate this, we have combined GSMA network coverage maps with individual-level information from national population censuses and labour force surveys, creating a district-level dataset of Rwanda that covers the 2002 to 2019 period. Our results show that an increase in mobile internet coverage affects the labour market in two ways. First, by increasing employment opportunities. Second, by contributing to changes in the composition of the labour market. Education, migration and shifts in demand are all instrumental in explaining our findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Caldarola, Bernardo & Grazzi, Marco & Occelli, Martina & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2023. "Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(10).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:10:s0048733323001555
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871
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    Cited by:

    1. Trang Thi Pham, 2023. "Mobile Internet and income improvement: Evidence from Viet Nam," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2023-145, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rwanda; Mobile internet; Structural transformation; Skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • L16 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics; Macroeconomic Industrial Structure

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