This book investigates at both the micro- and macroeconomic levels the impact of mobile phones
on poverty and inequality in developing countries. To gauge the effects of mobile phones on
these aspects the author refers to the standard concept of technology adoption and also
analyses the actual utilization of mobile phones as a means of communication and the degree to
which they have supplanted fixed-line phones. Readers will learn why the substitution effect is
stronger among poor than rich users and why the benefits of some mobile phone projects are
confined to the local or village level while in other projects the gains can be felt
throughout the economy as a whole.
