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

Giulia Canzian, Samuele Poy () and Simone Schueller
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Simone Schüller

Munich Reprints in Economics from University of Munich, Department of Economics

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.

Date: 2019
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (18)

Published in Regional Science and Urban Economics 77(2019): pp. 87-103

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
Journal Article: Broadband upgrade and firm performance in rural areas: Quasi-experimental evidence (2019)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:lmu:muenar:78234

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Munich Reprints in Economics from University of Munich, Department of Economics Ludwigstr. 28, 80539 Munich, Germany. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tamilla Benkelberg ().