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Integrating Mobile Phone Technologies into Labor-Market Intermediation: A Multi-Treatment Experimental Design

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  • Dammert, Ana C.

    (Carleton University)

  • Galdo, Jose C.

    (Carleton University)

  • Galdo, Virgilio

    (World Bank)

Abstract

This study investigates the causal impacts of integrating mobile phone technologies into traditional public labor-market intermediation services on employment outcomes. By providing faster, cheaper and up-to-date information on job vacancies via SMS, mobile phone technologies might affect the rate at which offers arrive as well as the probability of receiving a job offer. We implement a social experiment with multiple treatments that allows us to investigate both the role of information channels (digital versus non-digital) and information sets (restricted [public] versus unrestricted [public/private]). The results show positive and significant short-term effects on employment for public labor-market intermediation. While the impacts from traditional labor-market intermediation are not large enough to be statistically significant, the unrestricted digital treatment group shows statistically significant short-term employment effects. As for potential matching efficiency gains, the results suggest no statistically significant effects associated with either information channels or information sets.

Suggested Citation

  • Dammert, Ana C. & Galdo, Jose C. & Galdo, Virgilio, 2015. "Integrating Mobile Phone Technologies into Labor-Market Intermediation: A Multi-Treatment Experimental Design," IZA Discussion Papers 9012, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9012
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    2. David McKenzie, 2017. "How Effective Are Active Labor Market Policies in Developing Countries? A Critical Review of Recent Evidence," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 32(2), pages 127-154.
    3. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology Advancement: Evidence from Sub‐Saharan Africa," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 86(2), pages 231-246, June.
    4. Girum Abebe & A Stefano Caria & Marcel Fafchamps & Paolo Falco & Simon Franklin & Simon Quinn, 2021. "Anonymity or Distance? Job Search and Labour Market Exclusion in a Growing African City [Endogenous Stratification in Randomized Experiments]," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 88(3), pages 1279-1310.
    5. Chakravarty, Shubha & Lundberg, Mattias & Nikolov, Plamen & Zenker, Juliane, 2019. "Vocational training programs and youth labor market outcomes: Evidence from Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 71-110.
    6. Abebe, Girum & Caria, Stefano & Fafchamps, Marcel & Falco, Paolo & Franklin, Simon & Quinn, Simon & Shilpi, Forhad, 2017. "Matching firms and workers in a field experiment in Ethiopia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86572, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Sam Jones & Kunal Sen, 2022. "Labour market effects of digital matching platforms: Experimental evidence from sub-Saharan Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-69, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Beam, Emily A., 2016. "Do job fairs matter? Experimental evidence on the impact of job-fair attendance," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 32-40.
    9. 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.
    10. Efobi Uchenna & Adejumo O. Oluwabunmi, 2020. "Cooking technology and female labor market outcomes in sub‐Saharan Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 32(4), pages 661-672, December.
    11. Christopher O'Leary & Tulio Cravo & Ana Cristina Sierra & Leandro Justino, 2022. "Effects of Job Referrals on Labor Market Outcomes in Brazil," Economía Journal, The Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association - LACEA, vol. 0(Spring 20), pages 157-186, June.
    12. Uchenna R. Efobi & Belmondo V. Tanankem & Simplice A. Asongu, 2018. "Female Economic Participation with Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Advancement: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa," Research Africa Network Working Papers 18/005, Research Africa Network (RAN).
    13. Antonia Asenjo & Verónica Escudero & Hannah Liepmann, 2024. "Why Should we Integrate Income and Employment Support? A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(1), pages 1-29, January.
    14. Chakravarty, Shubha & Lundberg, Mattias & Nikolov, Plamen & Zenker, Juliane, 2019. "Vocational training programs and youth labor market outcomes: Evidence from Nepal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 71-110.
    15. Abebe, Girum & Caria, Stefano & Fafchamps, Marcel & Falco, Paolo & Franklin, Simon & Quinn, Simon, 2017. "Anonymity of distance? Job search and labour market exclusion in a growing African city," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86573, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ICT; labor-market intermediation; mobile phones; field experiments; Peru;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I3 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty
    • J2 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor

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