Pater Familias

Theories, observations, and articles, by Philip Schaefer · All posts · Categories

BETTER MARKETS WITH CELLPHONES.

May 6, 2008 · Economics, History

BETTER MARKETS WITH CELLPHONES. I posted recently here about how the Chicago Board of Trade provided better markets for Midwest farmers 150 years ago. The Sarah Corbett article gives a couple examples of how cellphones are accomplishing similar things in poor countries: Fishermen in southern India were able to increase their profits by 8% by calling prospective buyers before they got their cash to shore; in Nepal vegetable farmers use cellphones to arrange for more profitable sales.