Information and Communications Technology, Agricultural Profitability and Child Labor in Rural Peru
18 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2015
Date Written: November 2015
Abstract
We estimate the impact of access to information and communications technology on agricultural profitability and child labor among isolated rural villages in Peru. We exploit the timing of an intervention that provided at least one public (satellite) payphone to villages that did not previously have communications services. Using a villageālevel panel, we show that agricultural profitability increased by 19.7%. Moreover, this positive income effect translated into an increase in the likelihood of children being dedicated only to school and a reduction in the likelihood of child labor equivalent to 17 and 16 percentage points respectively.
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation