Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa

Report

A Center for Global Development working paper (No. 211, June 2010) by Jenny Aker and Isaac Mbiti on mobile phones and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. The authors note that mobile coverage in the region grew from roughly 10 per cent of the population in 1999 to around 60 per cent in 2008, and review the available evidence on how this expansion is affecting economic development. The paper is about 44 pages long.