IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/wpaper/hal-03617001.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Mobile Phones, Mobile Internet, and Employment in Uganda

Author

Listed:
  • Yann Balgobin

    (I3 SES - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation de Telecom Paris - Télécom ParisTech - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Antoine Dubus

    (ECARES - European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics - ULB - Université libre de Bruxelles)

Abstract

We analyze the relation between mobile phone use - mobile Internet in particular - and employment, self-employment and job regularity in Uganda. We find no evidence of any positive impact of mobile Internet use on employment or job quality, suggesting that either respondents do not use mobile Internet for job search practices or as a job tool, or that these uses are ineffective. However, we find that the adoption and use of basic mobile phones are positively related to employment and job quality, and we argue that regulators should focus on promoting the affordability of basic phones and mobile airtime.

Suggested Citation

  • Yann Balgobin & Antoine Dubus, 2022. "Mobile Phones, Mobile Internet, and Employment in Uganda," Working Papers hal-03617001, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03617001
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-03617001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-03617001/document
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kyeong Ho Lee & Marc F. Bellemare, 2013. "Look Who's Talking: The Impacts of the Intrahousehold Allocation of Mobile Phones on Agricultural Prices," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 49(5), pages 624-640, May.
    2. Francis Kramarz & Oskar Nordström Skans, 2014. "When Strong Ties are Strong: Networks and Youth Labour Market Entry," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(3), pages 1164-1200.
    3. Jeremy R. Magruder, 2010. "Intergenerational Networks, Unemployment, and Persistent Inequality in South Africa," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 62-85, January.
    4. Amaka G. Metu & Emmanuel Ajudua & Ifeoma Eboh & Chimezie Ukeje & Chekwube Madichie, 2020. "Ending youth unemployment in sub‐saharan Africa: Does ICT development have any role?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(S1), pages 20-31, November.
    5. Peter Kuhn & Hani Mansour, 2014. "Is Internet Job Search Still Ineffective?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(581), pages 1213-1233, December.
    6. Asongu, Simplice A. & Odhiambo, Nicholas M., 2020. "Inequality and gender inclusion: Minimum ICT policy thresholds for promoting female employment in Sub-Saharan Africa," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(4).
    7. Robert Jensen, 2007. "The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 879-924.
    8. Laura Greene Knapp & Terry Seaks, 1998. "A Hausman test for a dummy variable in probit," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(5), pages 321-323.
    9. 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.
    10. Avom, Désiré & Dadegnon, Aimé Kocou & Igue, Charlemagne Babatoundé, 2021. "Does digitalization promote net job creation? Empirical evidence from WAEMU countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(8).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shi, Zheng, 2023. "The impact of regional ICT development on job quality of the employee in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    2. Talla Fokam, Dieu Ne Dort & Kamga, Benjamin Fomba & Nchofoung, Tii N., 2023. "Information and communication technologies and employment in developing countries: Effects and transmission channels," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8).
    3. Phan, Van-Phuc, 2023. "Is the internet penetration pro-poor? Evidence from a panel data analysis," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8).
    4. Mansour Naser Alraja & Faris Alshubiri & Basel M. Khashab & Mahmood Shah, 2023. "The financial access, ICT trade balance and dark and bright sides of digitalization nexus in OECD countries," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(2), pages 177-209, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Balgobin, Yann & Dubus, Antoine, 2022. "Mobile phones, mobile Internet, and employment in Uganda," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).
    2. Raitano, Michele & Vona, Francesco, 2021. "Nepotism vs. Specific Skills: The effect of professional liberalization on returns to parental background of Italian lawyers," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 489-505.
    3. Qing Wang & Wenjing Xu & Yanghua Huang & Jidong Yang, 2022. "The Effect of Fast Internet on Employment: Evidence from a Large Broadband Expansion Program in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(3), pages 100-134, May.
    4. Giacomo Zanello & Chittur S. Srinivasan & Bhavani Shankar, 2014. "Transaction Costs, Information Technologies, and the Choice of Marketplace among Farmers in Northern Ghana," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(9), pages 1226-1239, September.
    5. Nicoletta Berardi, 2013. "Social networks and wages in Senegal’s labor market," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-26, December.
    6. Aina, Carmen & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2018. "The intergenerational transmission of liberal professions," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 108-120.
    7. Ana Dammert & Jose Galdo & Virgilio Galdo, 2015. "Integrating mobile phone technologies into labor-market intermediation: a multi-treatment experimental design," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 4(1), pages 1-27, December.
    8. Matthieu Manant & Serge Pajak & Nicolas Soulié, 2019. "Can social media lead to labor market discrimination? Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(2), pages 225-246, April.
    9. Bavaro, Michele & Patriarca, Fabrizio, 2022. "Referrals, intergenerational mobility and human capital accumulation," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    10. Talla Fokam, Dieu Ne Dort & Kamga, Benjamin Fomba & Nchofoung, Tii N., 2023. "Information and communication technologies and employment in developing countries: Effects and transmission channels," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8).
    11. Deguilhem, Thibaud & Berrou, Jean-Philippe & Combarnous, François, 2017. "Using your ties to get a worse job? The differential effects of social networks on quality of employment: Evidence from Colombia," MPRA Paper 78628, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Carmen Aina & Cheti Nicoletti, 2014. "The intergenerational transmission of liberal professions: nepotism versus abilities," Discussion Papers 14/14, Department of Economics, University of York.
    13. Thibaud Deguilhem & Jean-Philippe Berrou & François Combarnous, 2019. "Using your ties to get a worse job? The differential effects of social networks on quality of employment in Colombia," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(4), pages 493-522, October.
    14. Nicoletti, Cheti & Aina, Carmen, 2014. "The intergenerational mobility of liberal professions: nepotism versus abilities," ISER Working Paper Series 2014-39, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    15. Nordman, Christophe J. & Pasquier-Doumer, Laure, 2015. "Transitions in a West African labour market: The role of family networks," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 74-85.
    16. Jonas Hjort & Jonas Poulsen, 2019. "The Arrival of Fast Internet and Employment in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(3), pages 1032-1079, March.
    17. Xue Chen & Ye Jin & Shiping Mao, 2021. "How Can Apple Farmers Be Encouraged to Apply Information Technology? The Moderating Effect of Knowledge Sharing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-16, September.
    18. Eliud Dismas Moyi, 2019. "The effect of mobile technology on self-employment in Kenya," Journal of Global Entrepreneurship Research, Springer;UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    19. Min, Shi & Liu, Min & Huang, Jikun, 2020. "Does the application of ICTs facilitate rural economic transformation in China? Empirical evidence from the use of smartphones among farmers," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    20. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/6dffcvpj8t96bpc00heumik4e0 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Salas Garcia, Vania B. & Fan, Qin, 2015. "Information Access and Smallholder Farmers’ Selling Decisions in Peru," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205380, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03617001. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.