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

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  • Diether W. Beuermann

Abstract

We estimate the impact of access to information and communications technology on agricultural profitability and child labor among isolated rural villages in Peru. We exploit the timing of an intervention that provided at least one public (satellite) payphone to villages that did not previously have communications services. Using a village-level panel, we show that agricultural profitability increased by 19.7%. Moreover, this positive income effect translated into an increase in the likelihood of children being dedicated only to school and a reduction in the likelihood of child labor equivalent to 17 and 16 percentage points respectively.

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  • Diether W. Beuermann, 2015. "Information and Communications Technology, Agricultural Profitability and Child Labor in Rural Peru," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(4), pages 988-1005, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:rdevec:v:19:y:2015:i:4:p:988-1005
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Flavia Alves, 2024. "The impact of information and communication technologies on banks, credit, and savings: an examination of Brazil," BIS Working Papers 1174, Bank for International Settlements.
    3. Camacho, Adriana & Conover, Emily, 2019. "The impact of receiving SMS price and weather information on small scale farmers in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Cai, Yi & Sun, Yucheng & Qi, Wene & Yi, Famin, 2022. "Impact of smartphone use on production outsourcing: evidence from litchi farming in southern China," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 25(4), September.

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    JEL classification:

    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights
    • Q1 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture

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