Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda

Bernardo Caldarola; Marco Grazzi; Marco Sanfilippo; Martina Occelli

doi:10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871

Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda

Bernardo Caldarola^*, Marco Grazzi, Marco Sanfilippo, Martina Occelli

^*Corresponding author for this work

GSBE other - not theme-related research

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between mobile internet, employment and structural transformation in Rwanda. Thanks to its ability to enable access to a wide range of ICT technologies, internet coverage has the potential to affect the dynamics and the composition of employment significantly. To demonstrate this, we have combined GSMA network coverage maps with individual-level information from national population censuses and labour force surveys, creating a district-level dataset of Rwanda that covers the 2002 to 2019 period. Our results show that an increase in mobile internet coverage affects the labour market in two ways. First, by increasing employment opportunities. Second, by contributing to changes in the composition of the labour market. Education, migration and shifts in demand are all instrumental in explaining our findings.

Original language	English
Article number	104871
Number of pages	20
Journal	Research Policy
Volume	52
Issue number	10
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871
Publication status	Published - Dec 2023

JEL classifications

o14 - "Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology"
o33 - "Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes"
l16 - "Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics: Industrial Structure and Structural Change; Industrial Price Indices"

Keywords

Rwanda
Mobile Internet
Structural Transformation
Skills

Access to Document

10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871Licence: CC BY

Cite this

@article{a1b90bce70464c168d81e4aad152b551,

title = "Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda",

abstract = "This paper examines the relationship between mobile internet, employment and structural transformation in Rwanda. Thanks to its ability to enable access to a wide range of ICT technologies, internet coverage has the potential to affect the dynamics and the composition of employment significantly. To demonstrate this, we have combined GSMA network coverage maps with individual-level information from national population censuses and labour force surveys, creating a district-level dataset of Rwanda that covers the 2002 to 2019 period. Our results show that an increase in mobile internet coverage affects the labour market in two ways. First, by increasing employment opportunities. Second, by contributing to changes in the composition of the labour market. Education, migration and shifts in demand are all instrumental in explaining our findings.",

keywords = "Rwanda, Mobile Internet, Structural Transformation, Skills",

author = "Bernardo Caldarola and Marco Grazzi and Marco Sanfilippo and Martina Occelli",

note = "Data availability The authors do not have permission to share the mobile internet data. The code can be shared upon request",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871",

language = "English",

volume = "52",

journal = "Research Policy",

issn = "0048-7333",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "10",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda

AU - Caldarola, Bernardo

AU - Grazzi, Marco

AU - Sanfilippo, Marco

AU - Occelli, Martina

N1 - Data availability The authors do not have permission to share the mobile internet data. The code can be shared upon request

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - This paper examines the relationship between mobile internet, employment and structural transformation in Rwanda. Thanks to its ability to enable access to a wide range of ICT technologies, internet coverage has the potential to affect the dynamics and the composition of employment significantly. To demonstrate this, we have combined GSMA network coverage maps with individual-level information from national population censuses and labour force surveys, creating a district-level dataset of Rwanda that covers the 2002 to 2019 period. Our results show that an increase in mobile internet coverage affects the labour market in two ways. First, by increasing employment opportunities. Second, by contributing to changes in the composition of the labour market. Education, migration and shifts in demand are all instrumental in explaining our findings.

AB - This paper examines the relationship between mobile internet, employment and structural transformation in Rwanda. Thanks to its ability to enable access to a wide range of ICT technologies, internet coverage has the potential to affect the dynamics and the composition of employment significantly. To demonstrate this, we have combined GSMA network coverage maps with individual-level information from national population censuses and labour force surveys, creating a district-level dataset of Rwanda that covers the 2002 to 2019 period. Our results show that an increase in mobile internet coverage affects the labour market in two ways. First, by increasing employment opportunities. Second, by contributing to changes in the composition of the labour market. Education, migration and shifts in demand are all instrumental in explaining our findings.

KW - Rwanda

KW - Mobile Internet

KW - Structural Transformation

KW - Skills

U2 - 10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871

DO - 10.1016/j.respol.2023.104871

M3 - Article

SN - 0048-7333

VL - 52

JO - Research Policy

JF - Research Policy

IS - 10

M1 - 104871

ER -