Mobile Phones, Off-Farm Income, and Employment of Rural Women: Evidence from Bangladesh

Masanori Matsuura-Kannari, Shu Tian, Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam and Salauddin Tauseef
Additional contact information
Shu Tian: Asian Development Bank
Abu Hayat Md. Saiful Islam: Bangladesh Agricultural University
Salauddin Tauseef: International Food Policy Research Institute

No 811, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: A persistent disparity has been observed in the social and economic development of women, particularly evident in South Asia's lower female labor force participation. This study investigates how mobile phone ownership can overcome this disadvantage. Using an instrumental variable approach and comprehensive household panel dataset from rural Bangladesh, we show that women’s mobile phone ownership is significantly associated with an increase in their off-farm income, attributable to an enhancement in the likelihood of offfarm employment. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that the adoption of mobile phones has the potential benefits being distributed equitably across various levels of education, wealth, and remoteness. The findings, as corroborated by a series of robustness checks, underscore the importance of digitalization in promoting inclusive development.

Keywords: mobile phones; off-farm income; off-farm employment; female employment; rural; Bangladesh (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27
Date: 2025-10-17
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr, nep-dev and nep-sea
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