Working Paper: NBER ID: w16616
Authors: Dimitrios Batzilis; Taryn Dinkelman; Emily Oster; Rebecca Thornton; Deric Zanera
Abstract: Cellular technologies have become increasingly important in the developing world; infrastructure for mobile networks has expanded dramatically over the past two decades giving access to remote areas without previous phone service. Despite this expansion, relatively little is known about the correlates of the rollout of cellular phone networks or the performance of these networks. Since the rollout of cellular networks has been largely spearheaded by an active private sector in telecommunications, how demand-side and cost-side factors affect the timing of rollout and quality of network service is of particular interest. In this paper we use new data to estimate the correlates of cellular phone access and network performance across rural areas of Malawi. We compile a dataset which combines administrative data of the entire cellular network of Malawi with geographic and Census data to describe the rollout and the performance of the cellular network measured by the dropped call rate. We find that both demand-side and cost-side factors are important in determining the timing of network access, while demand-side factors appear most relevant for the dropped call rate, one metric of network quality.
Keywords: cellular networks; Malawi; network performance; service rollout; demand-side factors; cost-side factors
JEL Codes: O20; O25; R39
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| higher population density in 1998 (R23) | earlier access to cellular coverage between 2000 and 2008 (L96) |
| higher education levels (I23) | earlier access to cellular coverage (L96) |
| lower agricultural employment (J43) | earlier access to cellular coverage (L96) |
| flatter terrain (R14) | earlier access to cellular coverage (L96) |
| closer proximity to roads (R48) | earlier access to cellular coverage (L96) |
| higher population density (R23) | lower dropped call rates (L96) |
| higher education levels (I23) | lower dropped call rates (L96) |
| demand-side factors (J23) | earlier access to cellular coverage (L96) |
| demand-side factors (J23) | lower dropped call rates (L96) |
| cost-side factors (L11) | coverage and performance (G52) |