Can a New Mobile Phone Service in Rural India Help Promote Economic Empowerment?

An interesting article in The Wall Street Journal on how fisherman and farmers in India are being empowered by mobile phones.

Observing how cell phones can be used to promote economic growth, Robert Jensen wrote in a 2007 paper titled, "The Visible Hand(set): Mobile Phones and Market Performance in South Indian Fisheries -- The Micro and Mackerel Economics of Information," that "before mobile phones, deciding which [market] would offer the best price was sheer guesswork."

With mobile phones, however, suddenly it became an information-based decision. What's more, noted Jensen (who is currently at Brown University in Rhode Island), "it's not a zero-sum trade-off." The fishermen's customers benefitted from lower prices and greater choice, and there was less waste since the fishermen could easily identify the villages that would have the greatest demand for their fish each day.

Read full article.

Related:

-- Kerala farmers adopt SMS service to know rubber prices

-- Nokia To Launch 'Live Tools' For Farmers, Students In India

-- Selling Potatoes By Phone In Remote Bangladesh

-- The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Africa's Niger

-- Text message helpline for Indian farmers

emily | 6:17 PM | |
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