The impact of mobile phones on profits from livestock activities - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Diálogo Regional sobre Sociedad de la Información The impact of mobile phones on profits from livestock activities Evidence from Puno - Peru Roxana Barrantes Instituto de Estudios Peruanos 4th Acorn – Redecom Conference (Brasilia, Brazil) 1 May 14-15, 2010

Contents  Motivation  Some facts about the zone of study  Framework of analysis  Econometric Results  Way forward 2

Motivation  In LDCs, mobile phones have been the first ICT used by the rural poor – where poverty is concentrated.  “Use” differs from “Subscription” (Galperin and Mariscal, 2008; De Silva and Zainuden, 2007).  Basic question in this research: – Is the mobile phone being used in the productive sphere? Is it the factor that brings about changes in the production function and not only on the marketing sphere? 3

The area of study • Households in the area of influence of two fairs in Puno, Southern Peru. – One informant per household – 091020--Imagenes Puno.ppt – 090115--fotos.ppt • Small rural producers – 667 HH are dedicated permanently to both Agriculture and Livestock husbandry. • Measured by UBN, HH are poorer than both average HH in the region and in Peru. 4

Framework of analysis  The Law of one price – facilitated by mobile phone use (Jensen, 2007; Aker, 2008).  Relevant in the circulation sphere – marketing.  What happens in the household production function?  Data needed is not available in this sample  What happens with profits?  Cost implicitly informs about production function.  Sales proceeds – marketing new moving target in the ICT field. 5

Analytical framework • Dependent Variable: – Profits from agricultural activities – Profits from livestock husbandry • Independent variables: – Human capital – Natural capital – Market orientation – Mobile phone 6

Results  IV for mobile use  Only relevant when mobile was used by household head and for livestock purposes  Not relevant to get information about the production process  Not relevant to explain agricultural profits  Specialization in by products but diversification of livestock 7

The way ahead  Time of use – process of adoption of technology among the poor.  Production vs marketing decision-processes are different  Mobile is used as a reinforcer of existing ties so far. 8

Roxana Barrantes roxbarrantes@iep.org.pe Instituto de Estudios Diálogo Regional sobre Peruanos Sociedad de la Información Horacio Urteaga 694 Horacio Urteaga 694 Teléfonos: (51 1) 332 6194 Jesús María, Lima - PERU Fax: (51 1) 332 617399999999 Teléfonos: ( 51-1) 3326194 / 4244856 Fax: (51-1) 3326173 roxbarrantes@iep.org.pe www.iep.org.pe info@dirsi.net www.dirsi.net