Mobile money payment systems have spread rapidly around the world in the last decade. Given developing countries are powered by informal economies that traditionally have had limited access to information technologies, mobile payment system infrastructure has the potential to transform the way microenterprises conduct business. Through a pilot study in Livingstone, Zambia, I examine the effect of mobile money usage on microenterprise profits. I employ an instrumental variable strategy using the type of mobile operator as the instrument to address the selection bias in adoption, as mobile money services are available to everyone. In this urban context, I find initial evidence of positive net marginal benefits for microenterprises using mobile money, and I calculate bounds that range between 36% and 74% increase in profits. This study helps fill the gaps in the nascent microenterprise and mobile money literature and offers guidance to public and private policy makers regarding this market segment.
","abstract_html":"<p>Mobile money payment systems have spread rapidly around the world in the last decade. Given developing countries are powered by informal economies that traditionally have had limited access to information technologies, mobile payment system infrastructure has the potential to transform the way microenterprises conduct business. Through a pilot study in Livingstone, Zambia, I examine the effect of mobile money usage on microenterprise profits. I employ an instrumental variable strategy using the type of mobile operator as the instrument to address the selection bias in adoption, as mobile money services are available to everyone. In this urban context, I find initial evidence of positive net marginal benefits for microenterprises using mobile money, and I calculate bounds that range between 36% and 74% increase in profits. This study helps fill the gaps in the nascent microenterprise and mobile money literature and offers guidance to public and private policy makers regarding this market segment.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Frederick, Laura I"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Economics","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Professor Yaniv Stopnitzky"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014-05-16T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2014-05-16T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:42:50Z","subjects":["Mobile Money","Microenterprise","Instrumental Variable","Impact Evaluation","Zambia","Economics","Growth and Development","Other Economics","Social and Behavioral Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/92","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Professor Yaniv Stopnitzky"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Frederick, Laura I"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-05-23T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Economics"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in International and Development Economics (MSIDEC)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mobile Money","Microenterprise","Instrumental Variable","Impact Evaluation","Zambia","Economics","Growth and Development","Other Economics","Social and Behavioral Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/92"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Mobile money payment systems have spread rapidly around the world in the last decade. Given developing countries are powered by informal economies that traditionally have had limited access to information technologies, mobile payment system infrastructure has the potential to transform the way microenterprises conduct business. Through a pilot study in Livingstone, Zambia, I examine the effect of mobile money usage on microenterprise profits. I employ an instrumental variable strategy using the type of mobile operator as the instrument to address the selection bias in adoption, as mobile money services are available to everyone. In this urban context, I find initial evidence of positive net marginal benefits for microenterprises using mobile money, and I calculate bounds that range between 36% and 74% increase in profits. This study helps fill the gaps in the nascent microenterprise and mobile money literature and offers guidance to public and private policy makers regarding this market segment.
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