Joshua Blumenstock
Joshua Blumenstock is an Assistant Professor, School of Information Director, Data-Intensive Development Lab, University of California, Berkeley. His work focuses on the economic and social impacts of new technologies, and the development of new methods for the quantitative analysis of massive, spatio-temporal network data. Most of this work is based in developing and conflict-affected countries.
Content by Joshua Blumenstock
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Data Item
Data: Social networks, phone money transfers, and rainfall shocks: evidence from Rwanda
A large literature describes how local risk sharing networks can help individuals smooth consumption in the face of idiosyncratic economic shocks. However, when an entire community faces a large covariate shock, and when the transaction costs of transfers are high, these risk sharing networks are likely to be less effective. In this paper, we document how a new technology...
27 Feb 2019
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Publication - Working Paper
Estimating economic characteristics with phone data
7 Aug 2018 | Joshua Blumenstock
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Project
Driving usage of mobile money in Pakistan
More than a 100 million Pakistanis don’t have access to formal and regulated financial services (World Bank), accounting for 5 percent of the world's unbanked population, making branchless banking a viable and promising alternative. With more than 20 million customers every month and 75,000 shops in more than 800 cities across Pakistan, Easypaisa is the first and largest...
24 Nov 2016 | Greg Fischer, Joshua Blumenstock, Adnan Khan
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Project
Government mobile salary payments in Afghanistan
In this project, researchers evaluated the introduction of mobile salary payments (MSPs) for employees in the Afghan Ministry of Labour, Martyrs, Social Affairs and Disabled (MoLMSAD). MSPs have the potential to decrease the amount spent on ‘ghost’ workers and increase satisfaction amongst bureaucrats by paying them more accurately and on time, and in turn,...
6 Jul 2016 | Michael Callen, Tarek Ghani, Joshua Blumenstock
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Project
High-resolution measures of poverty and vulnerability in Afghanistan: Cost-effective solutions based on mobile phone data
To make informed decisions, policymakers need accurate and timely information on the social and economic state of a nation and its population. Reliable measures of economic activity, population density, physical security, and migration are a few examples of information that play a critical role in guiding public policy. In Afghanistan and many other developing countries, it...
7 Apr 2016 | Joshua Blumenstock, Tarek Ghani, Michael Callen, Jacob Shapiro
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Project
Modeling Urban Growth and Agglomeration with Large-Scale Mobile Phone Data
This project examines the impact of transport infrastructure on labour market outcomes in Sri Lanka. As a first step, it considers how changes in transport – such as new roads and bus routes – can affect labour mobility. Next, it attempts to understand how these changes in mobility affect wages for labour and related labour market outcomes. The project will also speak...
5 Sep 2014 | Joshua Blumenstock, Saad Gulzar, Sriganesh Lokanathan
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Project
Social networks, phone money transfers, and rainfall shocks: evidence from Rwanda
Social networks can help people deal with shocks. Much of the existing evidence focuses on risk sharing within small, local communities. When an entire community is affected by a massive shock, local social networks are often unable to cope. This research documents how a new technology is being used to share risk quickly over relatively long distances. Using detailed data...
4 Sep 2014 | Marcel Fafchamps, Nathan Eagle, Joshua Blumenstock
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Publication - Working Paper
Risk and Reciprocity Over the Mobile Phone Network: Evidence from Rwanda (Working Paper)
9 Sep 2011 | Joshua Blumenstock, Nathan Eagle, Marcel Fafchamps
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Publication - Policy Brief
Social networks, phone money transfers, and shocks: evidence from Rwanda (Policy Brief)
1 Sep 2011 | Marcel Fafchamps, Joshua Blumenstock, Nathan Eagle