I use the quasi experimental nature of the roll-out of the mobile phone network in Mozambique to estimate the impact of search costs on the dispersion of maize prices and transport costs. The introduction of mobile phone services from 1997 to 2009 explains a 4.5-11% percent reduction in price...

Agricultural inputs are experience goods: before purchasing them, buyers only observe their price, providing sellers an opportunity to cheat on quality. In a field experiment in rural Bangladesh, we replicate a market for experience goods, with agricultural input retailers (sellers) choosing...