IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/telpol/v42y2018i9p766-777.html

Is faster better? Quantifying the relationship between broadband speed and economic growth

Author

Listed:
  • Ford, George S.

Abstract

In this paper, I aim to quantify the relationship between higher broadband speeds (10 Mbps versus 25 Mbps) and the growth rates in important economic outcomes in U.S. counties including jobs, personal income, and labor earnings. Doing so exposes the potential for severe selection bias in studies of broadband's economic impact, which is addressed in this study using Coarsened Exact Matching. Once balanced, the data reveal no economic payoff from the 15 Mbps speed difference between the years 2013 and 2015 (when data is available). I also revisit an early and widely-cited study on broadband's effect on employment to evaluate the possible impacts of selection bias, and conclude that the positive benefits of broadband reported in that particular study are likely spurious. The selection bias problem may infect other studies on the economic impacts of broadband Internet services. Future research on broadband's economic impact should explicitly address selection bias.

Suggested Citation

  • Ford, George S., 2018. "Is faster better? Quantifying the relationship between broadband speed and economic growth," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 766-777.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:telpol:v:42:y:2018:i:9:p:766-777
    DOI: 10.1016/j.telpol.2018.05.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308596118300831
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.telpol.2018.05.006?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rohman, Ibrahim Kholilul & Bohlin, Erik, 2012. "Does broadband speed really matter for driving economic growth? Investigating OECD countries," 23rd European Regional ITS Conference, Vienna 2012 60385, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    2. Arthur Grimes & Cleo Ren & Philip Stevens, 2012. "The need for speed: impacts of internet connectivity on firm productivity," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 187-201, April.
    3. Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2008. "Matching for Causal Inference Without Balance Checking," UNIMI - Research Papers in Economics, Business, and Statistics unimi-1073, Universitá degli Studi di Milano.
    4. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    5. Iacus, Stefano & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2009. "cem: Software for Coarsened Exact Matching," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 30(i09).
    6. Matthew Blackwell & Stefano Iacus & Gary King & Giuseppe Porro, 2009. "cem: Coarsened exact matching in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 9(4), pages 524-546, December.
    7. Savage, Scott J. & Waldman, Donald, 2005. "Broadband Internet access, awareness, and use: Analysis of United States household data," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(8), pages 615-633, September.
    8. Iacus, Stefano M. & King, Gary & Porro, Giuseppe, 2012. "Causal Inference without Balance Checking: Coarsened Exact Matching," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(1), pages 1-24, January.
    9. Heckman, J.J. & Hotz, V.J., 1988. "Choosing Among Alternative Nonexperimental Methods For Estimating The Impact Of Social Programs: The Case Of Manpower Training," University of Chicago - Economics Research Center 88-12, Chicago - Economics Research Center.
    10. Mary Tiffen, 1995. "Population Density, Economic Growth and Societies in Transition: Boserup Reconsidered in a Kenyan Case‐study," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 26(1), pages 31-66, January.
    11. Oecd, 2014. "The Development of Fixed Broadband Networks," OECD Digital Economy Papers 239, OECD Publishing.
    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. Leduc, Elisabeth & Tojerow, Ilan, 2020. "Subsidizing Domestic Services as a Tool to Fight Unemployment: Effectiveness and Hidden Costs," IZA Discussion Papers 13544, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Corral, Leonardo & Henderson, Heath & Miranda, Juan José, 2016. "Evidence from a Natural Experiment on the Development Impact of Windfall Gains: The Camisea Fund in Peru," IDB Publications (Working Papers) 7520, Inter-American Development Bank.
    3. Gutiérrez-Romero, Roxana, 2024. "The intergenerational impact of electoral violence on height and human capital," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 608-630.
    4. Ramboer, Sander & Reynaerts, Jo, 2020. "Indecent proposals: Estimating the impact of regional state aid through EU guideline compliance," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Anjani Kumar & Vinay K. Sonkar & K. S. Aditya, 2023. "Assessing the Impact of Lending Through Kisan Credit Cards in Rural India: Evidence from Eastern India," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(3), pages 602-622, June.
    6. Roberto Gallardo & Brian Whitacre & Indraneel Kumar & Sreedhar Upendram, 2021. "Broadband metrics and job productivity: a look at county-level data," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 66(1), pages 161-184, February.
    7. Patrick, Carlianne & Mothorpe, Christopher, 2017. "Demand for new cities: Property value capitalization of municipal incorporation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 78-89.
    8. Collin D. Hodges & Heather M. Stephens, 2022. "Does municipal incorporation always increase property values?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 200-220, March.
    9. Magambo, Isaiah & Dikgang, Johane & Gelo, Dambala & Tregenna, Fiona, 2021. "Gold-Mining Pollution Exposure, Health Effects and Private Healthcare Expenditure in Tanzania," MPRA Paper 108800, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Suárez, David & García-Mariñoso, Begoña, 2021. "Does ad blocking have an effect on online shopping?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3).
    11. Jing Wang & Gen Li & Kai-Lung Hui, 2022. "Monetary Incentives and Knowledge Spillover: Evidence from a Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(5), pages 3549-3572, May.
    12. Guignet, Dennis & Jenkins, Robin R. & Belke, James & Mason, Henry, 2023. "The property value impacts of industrial chemical accidents," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Philipp vom Berge & Achim Schmillen, 2023. "Effects of mass layoffs on local employment—evidence from geo-referenced data," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(3), pages 509-539.
    14. Matteo Aquilina & Giulio Cornelli & Marina Sanchez del Villar, 2024. "Regulation, information asymmetries and the funding of new ventures," BIS Working Papers 1162, Bank for International Settlements.
    15. Heejung Byun & Joseph Raffiee & Martin Ganco, 2019. "Discontinuities in the Value of Relational Capital: The Effects on Employee Entrepreneurship and Mobility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(6), pages 1368-1393, November.
    16. Sara Pavone & Elena Ragazzi & Lisa Sella, 2015. "Sostenere le imprese agro-industriali in Piemonte: un?analisi controfattuale," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2015(3 Suppl.), pages 129-143.
    17. Carles Méndez-Ortega & Mercedes Teruel, 2020. "To acquire or not to acquire: the effects of acquisitions in the software industry," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 793-814, July.
    18. Davidson Heath & Giorgo Sertsios, 2022. "Profitability and Financial Leverage: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(11), pages 8386-8410, November.
    19. Hveem, Joakim, 2012. "Are temporary work agencies stepping-stones into regular employment?," SULCIS Working Papers 2012:3, Stockholm University, Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS.
    20. Khanna, Rajat, 2021. "Aftermath of a tragedy: A star's death and coauthors’ subsequent productivity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(2).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:eee:telpol:v:42:y:2018:i:9:p:766-777. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/30471/description#description .

    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.