Information and communications technologies (ICTs) have spread rapidly over the past decade. There has been considerable interest in the effect of such technology on search costs, search behavior and welfare outcomes, particularly in developing countries. This paper investigates the impact of a new search technology, mobile phones, on traders’ search and marketing behavior in Niger. We construct a novel theoretical model of sequential search, in which traders engage in optimal search for the maximum sales price, net transport costs. The model predicts that the introduction of a new search technology, such as mobile telephones, will increase traders’ reservation sales prices and the number of markets over which they search. To test the predictions of the... |