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Abstract
Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have spread rapidly in the
developing world. There has been considerable interest in the potential role ICTs, particularly
mobile phones, have begun to play in the marketing of agricultural outputs in these countries. In
this paper, we discuss the potential impacts ICTs may have on welfare, both in terms of potential
efficiency gains (via improved arbitrage), and welfare transfers among agents in the supply chain
(via reduced informational asymmetries and market power). We also review the recent empirical
evidence for such effects.