The Differing Tribal and Infrastructural Influences on Mobility in Developing and Industrialized Regions

This study leverages mobile phone data to analyze mobility patterns in developing countries, especially in comparison to more developed countries. Developing regions, such as the Ivory Coast, are marked by a number of factors that may influence mobility, such as less infrastructural coverage and maturity, less economic resources and stability, and in some cases, more cultural and language-based diversity. By comparing mobile phone data collected from the Ivory Coast to similar data collected in Portugal, we are able to highlight differences in mobility patterns—such as differences in likelihood to travel, as well as in the time required to travel—that are relevant to consideration on policy, infrastructure, and economic development. Moreover, our study illustrates how cultural and lingual diversity in developing regions (such as Ivory Coast) can present challenges to mobility models that perform well for less culturally diverse regions.