Broadband upgrade and firm performance in rural areas: Quasi-experimental evidence

Canzian, Giulia; Poy, Samuele und Schueller, Simone (2019): Broadband upgrade and firm performance in rural areas: Quasi-experimental evidence. In: Regional Science and Urban Economics, Bd. 77: S. 87-103

Abstract

This paper analyzes the impact of advanced (up to 20 Mbps download, up to 1 Mbps upload) broadband accessibility on firm performance by exploiting a unique local policy of a staggered broadband infrastructure upgrade across rural municipalities. In a difference-in-differences framework based on longitudinal balance sheet data for limited companies, we show that ADSL2+ availability is associated with increases in firms' revenue and total factor productivity (by on average 14.8 and 9.1 percent cumulatively over two years), but not with significant changes in personnel cost or employment. Additional analysis of aggregate administrative data shows no significant impact on the total number of active firms or local employment. Pre-trend evaluations support a causal interpretation.

• Dokumententyp: Zeitschriftenartikel
• Fakultät: Volkswirtschaft
• Themengebiete: 300 Sozialwissenschaften > 330 Wirtschaft
• ISSN: 0166-0462
• Sprache: Englisch