Transaction Costs, Information Technologies, and the Choice of Marketplace among Farmers in Northern Ghana.

Using a transactions costs framework, we examine the impact of information and communication technologies (mobile phones and radios) use on market participation in developing country agricultural markets using a novel transaction-level data set of Ghanaian farmers. Our analysis of the choice of mark...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Journal of Development Studies Vol. 50; no. 9; pp. 1226 - 1240
Autores principales: Zanello, Giacomo, Srinivasan, Chittur S., Shankar, Bhavani
Formato: Artículo
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd Sep2014
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Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Using a transactions costs framework, we examine the impact of information and communication technologies (mobile phones and radios) use on market participation in developing country agricultural markets using a novel transaction-level data set of Ghanaian farmers. Our analysis of the choice of markets by farmers suggests that market information from a broader range of markets may not always induce farmers to sell in more distant markets; instead farmers may use broader market information to enhance their bargaining power in closer markets. Finally, we find weak evidence on the impact of using mobile phones in attracting farm gate buyers.