Abstract
This paper assesses the impact of search cost - as proxied by the cost of access to telephones - on small-scale producers' choice between trading with middlemen and trading directly with consumers. The empirical findings suggest that search cost plays a significant role in this choice and that a reduction in search cost increases the likelihood of trading with consumers. This result has important implications related to the provision of public telephones in rural areas of developing countries.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 522-541 |
Number of pages | 20 |
Journal | Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics |
Volume | 160 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Sept 2004 |
Externally published | Yes |