Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality
Digital technologies can expand access to health services to underserved populations. This paper leverages mobile network expansion and survey data spanning two decades to study the impact of access to mobile phones on infant mortality in Africa. Using plausibly exogenous variations in lightning int...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Artículo preliminar |
| Language: | Inglés |
| Published: |
World Bank
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141087 |
| _version_ | 1855513979036631040 |
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| author | Mensah, Justice Tei Tafere, Kibrom Abay, Kibrom A. |
| author_browse | Abay, Kibrom A. Mensah, Justice Tei Tafere, Kibrom |
| author_facet | Mensah, Justice Tei Tafere, Kibrom Abay, Kibrom A. |
| author_sort | Mensah, Justice Tei |
| collection | Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace) |
| description | Digital technologies can expand access to health services to underserved populations. This paper leverages mobile network expansion and survey data spanning two decades to study the impact of access to mobile phones on infant mortality in Africa. Using plausibly exogenous variations in lightning intensity and (sub)regional convergence in mobile penetration as instrumental variables for mobile network expansion, the analysis finds that mobile phones significantly reduce infant mortality. A 10 percentage point increase in mobile coverage is associated with a 0.45 percentage point reduction in infant mortality. Improvements in health knowledge and behavior and health care utilization appear to be plausible channels. |
| format | Artículo preliminar |
| id | CGSpace141087 |
| institution | CGIAR Consortium |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | World Bank |
| publisherStr | World Bank |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | CGSpace1410872024-10-25T07:53:03Z Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality Mensah, Justice Tei Tafere, Kibrom Abay, Kibrom A. infants health technology mobile data equipment mortality information and communication technologies digital technology Digital technologies can expand access to health services to underserved populations. This paper leverages mobile network expansion and survey data spanning two decades to study the impact of access to mobile phones on infant mortality in Africa. Using plausibly exogenous variations in lightning intensity and (sub)regional convergence in mobile penetration as instrumental variables for mobile network expansion, the analysis finds that mobile phones significantly reduce infant mortality. A 10 percentage point increase in mobile coverage is associated with a 0.45 percentage point reduction in infant mortality. Improvements in health knowledge and behavior and health care utilization appear to be plausible channels. 2022-03-30 2024-04-12T13:37:16Z 2024-04-12T13:37:16Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141087 en Open Access World Bank Mensah, Justice Tei; Tafere, Kibrom; and Abay, Kibrom A. 2022. Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 9978. Washington, DC: World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37200 |
| spellingShingle | infants health technology mobile data equipment mortality information and communication technologies digital technology Mensah, Justice Tei Tafere, Kibrom Abay, Kibrom A. Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title | Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title_full | Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title_fullStr | Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title_short | Saving lives through technology: Mobile phones and infant mortality |
| title_sort | saving lives through technology mobile phones and infant mortality |
| topic | infants health technology mobile data equipment mortality information and communication technologies digital technology |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141087 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mensahjusticetei savinglivesthroughtechnologymobilephonesandinfantmortality AT taferekibrom savinglivesthroughtechnologymobilephonesandinfantmortality AT abaykibroma savinglivesthroughtechnologymobilephonesandinfantmortality |