Does Broadband Matter for Rural Entrepreneurs and Creative Class Employees?

Kelsey L. Conley and Brian Whitacre
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Kelsey L. Conley: Oklahoma State University

The Review of Regional Studies, 2016, vol. 46, issue 2, 171-190

Abstract: Efforts to attract entrepreneurs and "creative class" workers have become important components of economic development strategies for rural communities. One commonly held perception is that broadband access is important for these types of employees; however, empirical research on the relationship between the two is generally lacking. This study uses county-level data from the continental U.S. to estimate spatial and first-differenced regression models on the association between broadband and measures of entrepreneurship/creative-class employees in rural areas. The results suggest that high levels of broadband adoption may in fact serve to reduce the numbers of entrepreneurs and creative class employees in rural America. These findings serve as a reminder that broadband is not a panacea for all issues of importance to rural communities and provide evidence that there may be negative implications associated with efforts to increase levels of rural broadband access and adoption.

Keywords: broadband; rural entrepreneurs; rural creative class; spatial error; first-differenced (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L26 O33 R15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rre:publsh:v46:y:2016:i:2:p:171-190

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