Mobile Broadband, Poverty, and Labor Outcomes in Tanzania

Abstract

Abstract What are the impacts of expanding mobile broadband coverage on poverty, household consumption, and labor-market outcomes in developing countries? Who benefits from improved coverage of mobile internet? To respond to these questions, this paper applies a difference-in-differences estimation using panel household survey data combined with geospatial information on the rollout of mobile broadband coverage in Tanzania. The results reveal that being covered by 3G networks has a large positive effect on total household consumption and poverty reduction, driven by positive impacts on labor-market outcomes. Working-age individuals living in areas covered by mobile internet witnessed an increase in labor-force participation, wage employment, and non-farm self-employment, and a decline in farm employment. These effects vary by age, gender, and skill level. Younger and more skilled men benefit the most through higher labor-force participation and wage employment, while high-skilled women benefit from transitions from self-employed farm work into non-farm employment.