Joël Cariolle (FERDI, CERDI)

Joël Cariolle 
Ferdi, chercheur associé au CERDI

Coauteur : David A. Caroll (Tufts University)

Résumé

While recent literature highlights the role of mobile connectivity in fostering household consumption and income diversification away from agricultural activities, its effects on agricultural labor market integration remain largely unexplored. Using household-level data from eight WAEMU member states, we find that mobile network coverage reduces wage dispersion across enumeration areas for key farming tasks—soil preparation, seeding, and harvesting. Wage levels rise significantly for women, and moderately for men during certain seasons, contributing to a narrowing gender wage gap. These labor market shifts are accompanied by a reorganization of the agricultural production model: connected households increasingly rely on hired rather than family labor, invest more in equipment and mechanization, expand their use of inorganic fertilizer, and reorient production toward fewer marketable crops while adopting more intercropping at the plot level. These findings suggest that mobile connectivity generates general equilibrium effects, with improved access to agricultural labor markets playing a key role in ongoing rural transformation processes.