Violence and financial decisions: evidence from mobile money in Afghanistan

Blumenstock, Joshua, Callen, Mike ORCID: 0000-0002-8408-1404, Ghani, Tarek and González, Roberto (2024) Violence and financial decisions: evidence from mobile money in Afghanistan. Review of Economics and Statistics, 106 (2). 352–369. ISSN 0034-6535

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Abstract

We provide evidence that violence reduces the adoption and use of mobile money in three separate empirical settings in Afghanistan. First, analyzing nationwide mobile money transaction logs, we find that users exposed to violence reduce use of mobile money. Second, using panel survey data from a field experiment, we show that subjects expecting violence are significantly less likely to respond to random inducements to use mobile money. Finally, analyzing nationwide financial survey data, we find that individuals expecting violence hold more cash. Collectively, this evidence suggests that violence can impede the growth of formal financial systems.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://direct.mit.edu/rest
Additional Information:	© 2021 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Divisions:	Economics
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology
JEL classification:	O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O17 - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements: Legal, Social, Economic, and Political O - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth > O3 - Technological Change; Research and Development > O33 - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes D - Microeconomics > D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics > D14 - Personal Finance
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2022 16:45
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 03:24
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/117303

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