摘要：The goal of this study was to analyze the impact of a newly introduced market information system “E-Soko”, on beans markets integration by comparing the period before and after the system was implemented in Rwanda. Beans, both bush and climbing, are the most important traded crop in rural areas of Rwanda, and third most important in urban areas in terms of value. Bi-weekly prices on beans were analyzed for the two time periods: one before the introduction of the market information system “E-Soko” (1999 to 2003) and another one after “E-Soko” was introduced (2007-2012) on eight markets across Rwanda for each period. Vector autregression methods were used to analyze the data and assess the level of market integration in both periods. Stationarity tests show that the price series in the period after the introduction of E-Soko (2007-2012) are all (except one) stationary, which raises the question of the market efficiency. Prices in the period before E-Soko (1999-2003) indicate a good level of integration with Musanze market leading the group. No clear conclusions were drawn from this study regarding the impact of the E-Soko market information system. More studies on beans marketing channels, mechanism of price formation (market power?) and price data collection and reporting processes are needed to elucidate some of the unclear behavior of beans prices.
