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Mobile Money and Healthcare Use: Evidence from East Africa

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  • Haseeb Ahmed
  • Benjamin W. Cowan

Abstract

This paper uses a difference-in-difference framework to estimate the effects of mobile money transfer technology (MMT) on healthcare usage in the face of negative health shocks. We use survey data from 2013-16 with quarterly observations on about 1,600 households of 10 villages in the Kisumu region of Western Kenya. We find evidence that MMT, likely through greater ease of informal borrowing, helps households increase utilization of formal healthcare services in terms of visits to a clinic, consultation and medication expenditures in comparison with the non-users of this technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Haseeb Ahmed & Benjamin W. Cowan, 2019. "Mobile Money and Healthcare Use: Evidence from East Africa," NBER Working Papers 25669, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:25669
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    2. Paul Owusu Takyi & Roberto Leon-Gonzalez, 2022. "Effect of a health shock on working hours and health care usage: the role of financial inclusion in Ghana," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 113-134, February.

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    JEL classification:

    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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