Does mobile broadband use promote smallholder entrepreneurship? Evidence from rural China

This study explored the impact of mobile broadband use on smallholders’ entrepreneurial engagement and willingness using data from a household survey collected from three provinces in China. We used an endogenous switching probit model to account for the potential selection bias associated with mobile broadband use. The empirical results indicated that mobile broadband use exerted positive and statistically significant impacts on smallholders’ entrepreneurial engagement and willingness. In particular, we found that mobile broadband use increased the probability of smallholders’ entrepreneurial engagement and willingness by 15.1 and 50.9% points, respectively. Further analysis revealed that the effects of mobile broadband use on smallholder entrepreneurship were heterogeneous across regions. Additionally, we found that while the impact of mobile broadband use on entrepreneurial engagement was the largest for smallholders with high income, its impact on entrepreneurial willingness appeared to be the greatest for smallholders with low income. This study extended the literature by analysing smallholder entrepreneurship and provided evidence on the effect of mobile ICT on smallholder entrepreneurship.