Hand Held Wealth? Mobile Money & Food Production in Rural Potosi

Hand Held Wealth? Mobile Money & Food Production in Rural Potosi

2014

Latin America and the Caribbean

Bolivia

Because the knowledge we have on the effects of mobile money platforms in the Andean region of rural Bolivia is still very limited, there is yet a lot of information to be collected on this topic that could make a valuable contribution to our understanding of the way new technologies shape the choices people make, not only in regards to money, but also in their social interactions and relationships. For this reason, the purpose of this research is to study the effects of the newly introduced mobile money platform Tigo Money on the development of rural areas in the Department of Potosi. More specifically, this research explores the role that this new platform plays in the productivity and implementation of new technologies for food production among the segment of the population that lives in extreme poverty in the Urmiri and Chayanta Municipalities of Northern Potosi.

Maria Isabel Balderrama and Oscar Gerdy Rocabado

Maria Isabel Balderrama is a Development Project Consultant currently based in La Paz, Bolivia. She earned her M.Sc. in International Development from the University of Utrecht and has ample experience in development project monitoring and evaluation, as well as in conducting quantitative and qualitative research in the area of international development.

Oscar Rocabado currently works as a Development Project Consultant in La Paz, Bolivia. He earned his M.Sc. from Bolivia?s Universidad Mayor de San Andres, where he has also conducted research under the University?s Development Research Arm, CIDES (Postgrado en Ciencias del Desarrollo). In addition, Rocabado has conducted qualitative and quantitative research with local and international NGOs throughout Bolivia.