IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/inrsre/v30y2007i3p249-273.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Infrastructure and the Rural—urban Divide in High-speed Residential Internet Access

Author

Listed:
  • Brian E. Whitacre

    (Department of Agricultural Economics Oklahoma State University, brian.whitacre@okstate.edu)

  • Bradford F. Mills

    (Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, bfmills@vt.edu)

Abstract

As residential Internet access in the United States shifts toward high-speed connections, a gap has emerged in rural high-speed access relative to urban high-speed access. Potential causes of this high-speed ``digital divide'' include rural—urban differences in people, place, and infrastructure. In this article, Current Population Survey data from 2000, 2001, and 2003 are combined with novel infrastructure data to determine the relative roles of these factors in the rural—urban divide. Bootstrapped decompositions of logit model results demonstrate that rural—urban differences in income and in network externalities, but not in infrastructure, are the dominant causes of the high-speed gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian E. Whitacre & Bradford F. Mills, 2007. "Infrastructure and the Rural—urban Divide in High-speed Residential Internet Access," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 30(3), pages 249-273, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:30:y:2007:i:3:p:249-273
    DOI: 10.1177/0160017607301606
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0160017607301606
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0160017607301606?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sinai, Todd & Waldfogel, Joel, 2004. "Geography and the Internet: is the Internet a substitute or a complement for cities?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Gillett, Sharon E. & Lehr, William H. & Osorio, Carlos, 0. "Local government broadband initiatives," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 28(7-8), pages 537-558, August.
    3. Miniaci Raffaele & Parisi Maria Laura, 2006. "Social Interactions and the Digital Divide: Identification and Policy Implications," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, October.
    4. Fairlie, Robert W., 2003. "An Extension of the Blinder-Oaxaca Decomposition Technique to Logit and Probit Models," Center Discussion Papers 28425, Yale University, Economic Growth Center.
    5. Johannes M. Bauer, 2005. "Regulation and state ownership: conflicts and complementarities in eu telecommunications," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(2), pages 151-177, June.
    6. Bradford F. Mills & Brian E. Whitacre, 2003. "Understanding the Non‐Metropolitan—Metropolitan Digital Divide," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(2), pages 219-243, June.
    7. Strover, Sharon, 2001. "Rural internet connectivity," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 331-347, June.
    8. Downes, Tom & Greenstein, Shane, 2002. "Universal access and local internet markets in the US," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(7), pages 1035-1052, September.
    9. David Neumark, 1988. "Employers' Discriminatory Behavior and the Estimation of Wage Discrimination," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 23(3), pages 279-295.
    10. James E. Prieger, 2003. "The Supply Side of the Digital Divide: Is There Equal Availability in the Broadband Internet Access Market?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 346-363, April.
    11. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    12. James E. Prieger, 2003. "The Supply Side of the Digital Divide: Is There Equal Availability in the Broadband Internet Access Market?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 41(2), pages 346-363, April.
    13. Oaxaca, Ronald L. & Ransom, Michael R., 1994. "On discrimination and the decomposition of wage differentials," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 5-21, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grubesic, Tony H., 2006. "A spatial taxonomy of broadband regions in the United States," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(4), pages 423-448, November.
    2. Elizabeth A. Mack, 2015. "Variations in the Broadband-Business Connection across the Urban Hierarchy," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(3), pages 400-423, September.
    3. Chris Forman, 2013. "How has information technology use shaped the geography of economic activity?," Chapters, in: Frank Giarratani & Geoffrey J.D. Hewings & Philip McCann (ed.), Handbook of Industry Studies and Economic Geography, chapter 10, pages 253-270, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Karolina Goraus & Joanna Tyrowicz, 2014. "Gender Wage Gap in Poland – Can It Be Explained by Differences in Observable Characteristics?," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 36.
    5. Mizunoya, Suguru & Mitra, Sophie, 2013. "Is There a Disability Gap in Employment Rates in Developing Countries?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 28-43.
    6. Kolko, Jed, 2006. "Why Should Governments Support Broadband Adoption?," MPRA Paper 3363, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. González Álvarez, M Luz & Barranquero, Antonio Clavero, 2009. "Inequalities in health care utilization in Spain due to double insurance coverage: An Oaxaca-Ransom decomposition," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 793-801, September.
    8. Zhaoyi Cao & Tim Maloney, 2017. "Decomposing Ethnic Differences in University Academic Achievement in New Zealand," Working Papers 2017-02, Auckland University of Technology, Department of Economics.
    9. Frenette, Marc, 2007. "Why Are Youth from Lower-income Families Less Likely to Attend University? Evidence from Academic Abilities, Parental Influences, and Financial Constraints," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2007295e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    10. Zeman, Klarka & Frenette, Marc, 2007. "Why Are Most University Students Women? Evidence Based on Academic Performance, Study Habits and Parental Influences," Analytical Studies Branch Research Paper Series 2007303e, Statistics Canada, Analytical Studies Branch.
    11. Andrew E. Burke & Michael A. Nolan & Felix R. FitzRoy, 2006. "Education and Regional Job Creation by the Self-Employed: The English North-South Divide," Papers on Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy 2006-07, Max Planck Institute of Economics, Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy Group.
    12. Andrew Burke & Felix Fitzroy & Michael Nolan, 2009. "Is there a North-South Divide in Self-employment in England?," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(4), pages 529-544.
    13. Prabir C. Bhattacharya & Vibhor Saxena, 2015. "Discrimination in Accessing Cleaner Cooking Fuels and Electricity in North India: The Role of Caste, Tribe, and Religion," Heriot-Watt University Economics Discussion Papers 1502, Department of Economics, School of Management and Languages, Heriot Watt University.
    14. Vibhor Saxena & P.C. Bhattacharya, 2015. "Inequalities in accessing LPG and electricity consumption in India: The role of caste, tribe, and religion," Discussion Paper Series, School of Economics and Finance 201512, School of Economics and Finance, University of St Andrews, revised 25 Jun 2017.
    15. Stewart Williams, Jennifer Anne, 2009. "Using non-linear decomposition to explain the discriminatory effects of male-female differentials in access to care: A cardiac rehabilitation case study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1072-1079, October.
    16. Frenette, Marc, 2007. "Pourquoi les jeunes provenant de familles a plus faible revenu sont-ils moins susceptibles de frequenter l'universite? Analyse fondee sur les aptitudes aux etudes, l'influence des parents et les contr," Direction des études analytiques : documents de recherche 2007295f, Statistics Canada, Direction des études analytiques.
    17. Whitacre, Brian E. & Mills, Bradford F., 2005. "The Role of Infrastructure in the Rural - Urban Digital Divide," 2005 Annual meeting, July 24-27, Providence, RI 19352, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    18. Whitacre, Brian E. & Mahasuweerachai, Phumsith, 2008. "“Small” Broadband Providers and Federal Assistance Programs: Solving the Digital Divide?," Journal of Regional Analysis and Policy, Mid-Continent Regional Science Association, vol. 38(3), pages 1-15.
    19. Marco Caliendo & Frank M. Fossen & Alexander Kritikos & Miriam Wetter, 2015. "The Gender Gap in Entrepreneurship: Not just a Matter of Personality," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 61(1), pages 202-238.
    20. Jakub Picka, 2014. "Problém "public-private pay gap" v České republice [The Public-Private Pay Gap in the Czech Republic]," Politická ekonomie, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2014(5), pages 662-682.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:30:y:2007:i:3:p:249-273. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.