Mobile money, risk sharing, and transaction costs: a replication study of evidence from Kenya's mobile money revolution

M-PESA, a mobile phone-based technology for transferring money provides a gateway to formal financial services for populations who otherwise would not have access. This study re-examines Jack and Suri's 'Risk Sharing and Transaction Costs' paper. With a few minor differences, the results are robust to consistency tests and sensitivity analyses. Since rural households are expected to particularly benefit from M-PESA, the heterogenous effects have also been explored by comparing benefits across urban and rural residents. The findings reported here and in the original study provide strong empirical evidence that M-PESA has had a positive impact on people's financial health. Such financial benefits derived from market-based mobile money innovations can be vital in combating world poverty.