The Digital Divide and Poverty in Developing Countries: Evidence from Farm Households in Niger

Over time, most of the farm households lack the good access of internet and mobile phone; thereby, the use causes a problem with the disparities observed between farm households located in urban and rural areas, which could increase their poverty in Niger. This paper estimates the causal effect of the internet and mobile phone's use by the Nigerien's farm household on their poverty. To do so, the propensity score matching (PSM) estimation's method is used on cross-sectional data collected from 4000 households in 2014. The results revealed that the intensity and severity of poverty decrease for the rural Nigerien's farm household that uses the mobile phone. Also, the farm household's income level like the total expenses and money transfer received determines their internet and mobile phone's use, but the farm households in rural areas are negatively and significantly affected by the internet and mobile phone's use. An emphasis should be placed on the mobile phone's use by the farm household in rural areas to reduce poverty in Niger.