Income Inequality and Technology Diffusion: Evidence from Developing Countries*
研究了1985-1998年间发展中国家国内收入不平等对移动电话扩散的影响，发现高收入群体收入份额越大，早期扩散越快，且工具变量结果稳健。
Abstract We study the effect of within‐country income inequality on the diffusion of mobile phones using data on market penetration in a sample of developing countries from 1985 to 1998. Mobile phones are an example of international technology, originating in industrialized countries and diffusing worldwide. We find that income inequality, as measured by the income share of the highest earning deciles, has a positive effect on the early diffusion of mobile phones and that the estimated effect becomes greater when a measure of agricultural endowments is used as an instrument. The instrumental variable results are robust to weak instruments. Our findings suggest that the diffusion of new technologies originating from industrialized countries may generate yet another channel that links inequality and development.