Mobile internet enabling inclusive growth: Nobel laureate economist Michael Spence

Nobel prize winning economist Michael Spence said that mobile internet is enabling inclusive growth and opening up employment opportunities. Speaking at a webinar organised by National Stock Exchange (NSE) and New York University (NYU) Stern Business School on Friday night, Spence said that in recent times there had been unusually rapid expansion in digital transactions due to access to mobile internet in India.

Describing mobile internet as a "quasi public good", Spence said "opening up of the digital space has thrown up employment opportunities in IT areas".

According to him, the key parameters for expansion of mobile internet have been due to decline in cost of equipment, cost of data and increase in speed.


Spence said mobile payments systems generate huge data while artificial intelligence and machine learning have the potential to close information gaps in the markets.

He said penetration of mobile will continue by spreading the internet eco-system.

The economist said internet has a great impact on improving the healthcare and education sectors of the country and India is at the frontier of many aspects of a digital economy and it is just a start.

Mobile internet has also led to a huge investment by the private sector and generates social returns.

Spence also said that India has a big advantage of a big market which gives scale to companies.