The Impact of Broadband on U.S. Agriculture: An Evaluation of the USDA Broadband Loan Program

Amy M.G. Kandilov, Ivan Kandilov, Xiangping Liu () and Mitch Renkow

No 103634, 2011 Annual Meeting, July 24-26, 2011, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from Agricultural and Applied Economics Association

Abstract: We evaluate the impact of USDA’s low-cost broadband loan programs on the U.S. agricultural sector. The broadband loan programs increase access to high-speed internet in recipient communities, which can raise farm sales by increasing both farm output and prices received by producers. Further, high-speed internet may drive down costs by providing information on cheaper inputs and better management practices, leading to an overall improvement in farm profits. Using data from the 1997, 2002, and 2007 U.S. Census of Agriculture, we employ a panel difference-in-differences estimator, as well as a difference-in-differences propensity score matching estimator, to show that the two USDA broadband loan programs have positive impacts on farm sales, expenditure, and profits. The positive effects for crops are larger than those for livestock and animal products.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Farm Management; Marketing; Public Economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 41
Date: 2011
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-ict
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Journal Article: The Impact of Broadband on U.S. Agriculture: An Evaluation of the USDA Broadband Loan Program (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aaea11:103634

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.103634

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