Have we finally bridged the digital divide? Smart phone and Internet use patterns by race and ethnicity

Robert Fairlie

Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series from Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz

Abstract: Two decades ago an influential article documented the alarming disparities that existed in access to computers and the Internet between African-Americans and whites (Hoffman and Novak, 1998). Using the latest U.S. Census Bureau/Bureau of Labor Statistics data on computer and Internet access, I find that the “digital divide” has not been bridged and remains as large as it was two decades ago. African-Americans and Latino-Americans are less likely to use the Internet on smart phones, computer, tablets or other devices than are whites. A statistical decomposition analysis reveals that income and education inequalities are the leading causes of the disparities in access to technology. The findings have implications for policies that subsidize broadband to low-income families.

Keywords: Basic Behavioral and Social Science; Behavioral and Social Science; Quality Education; Information Systems; Library and Information Studies; Communication and Media Studies; Information & Library Sciences (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017-01-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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