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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif";color:#1F497D'>Greetings
all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif";color:#1F497D'>My
name is Jenny Aker, and I am an economics professor at Tufts University. Prior
to working for a university, I worked for an international non-governmental
organization in West and Central Africa. When I first arrived in West Africa
in 1997, landlines were scarce and mobile phones had barely penetrated West
Africa. More than ten years later, mobile phone coverage has expanded
tremendously, and some of the poorest households in Africa are using mobile
phones.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>My
research looks at the impact of information technology (primarily mobile
phones) on a variety of development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa, including
adult literacy, access to market information and agricultural and civic
education campaigns. The main questions we attempt to address are the
following: <a
href="http://blogs.cgdev.org/globaldevelopment/2010/05/can-you-text-me-money-now-using-mobile-phones-for-cash-transfers.php">How
can mobile phone coverage and mobile devices reduce communication costs,
improve households’ access to information and financial services and promote
market efficiency, learning and development in developing countries</a>? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>While
mobile phones offer tremendous opportunities in development, and can overcome
weaknesses in landlines, power and roads, <a
href="http://blogs.cgdev.org/global_prosperity_wonkcast/2010/06/01/jenny-aker-mobile-phones-for-development%E2%80%94hope-vs-hype/">they
are not necessarily the “silver bullet” for development</a>. And such
opportunities in some cases coincide with risks. How do we know when
mobile technology is “better” (more efficient and effective) than traditional,
low-tech approaches? And when mobile phone technology is used, how can we
ensure that it reaches a broader spectrum of the population?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>
</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Jenny C. Aker<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Assistant
Professor of Economics, Tufts University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Economics
Department and Fletcher School<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Tufts
University<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Tel(C):
+1 510 219-1663<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Tel(Niger):
00 227 96087593<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Tel
(Netherlands): 00 310638029012<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Email:
jennaker@hotmail.com or Jenny.Aker@tufts.edu<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR style='font-family:"Bodoni MT","serif"'>Web
page: http://sites.tufts.edu/jennyaker/<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span lang=FR><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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