Structural Change in Rural West Africa: Does Mobile Banking Have a Role to Play?
利用西非七国面板数据，研究发现移动银行显著促进农村非农创业，通过提升正规金融可及性和参与非正式储蓄团体来缓解流动性约束，对政策制定者推动农村结构转型有参考价值。
Non-farm entrepreneurship plays a vital role in mitigating climate shocks and strengthening household resilience in rural sub-Saharan Africa, yet liquidity constraints often hinder business creation. This study examines whether mobile banking promotes rural non-farm entrepreneurship in seven WAEMU countries—Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. Using panel data from the 2018/19 and 2021/22 waves of the Enquête Harmonisée sur les Conditions de Vie des Ménages (EHCVM), we address potential endogeneity in mobile banking adoption through correlated random effects models, entropy balancing, and instrumental variable estimation. Across all specifications, mobile banking users are significantly more likely to operate non-farm enterprises. Mechanism analysis shows that mobile banking enhances financial inclusion by increasing access to formal financial institutions and participation in informal savings groups, such as ROSCAs. These findings underscore the role of mobile banking in promoting rural structural transformation and improving economic resilience in WAEMU countries.