Abstract
We provide a structured overview of the quantitative research on the economic impacts of broadband internet. Differentiating between wireline and wireless technologies as well as broadband availability and broadband adoption, respectively, we review studies investigating the impacts on economic growth, employment and regional development as well as productivity and firm performance. Eventually, the survey does not only allow the identification of main research gaps but also provides useful information for policy makers on the significance and importance of communication networks for social welfare.
Acknowledgments
The authors are indebted to the editor and two anonymous referees for highly valuable and insightful comments. Financial support by the ZEW Sponsor’s Association for Science and Practice is gratefully acknowledged.
References
Ahlfeldt, G., P. Koutroumpis and T. Valletti (forthcoming) “Speed 2.0-Evaluating Access to Universal Digital Highways,” Journal of the European Economic Association.Suche in Google Scholar
Aker, J. C. (2010) “Information from Markets Near and Far: Mobile Phones and Agricultural Markets in Niger,” American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 2(3):46–59.10.1257/app.2.3.46Suche in Google Scholar
Akerman, A., I. Gaarder and M. Mogstad (2015) “The Skill Complementarity of Broadband Internet,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(4):1781–1824.10.3386/w20826Suche in Google Scholar
Arvin, B. M. and R. P. Pradhan (2014) “Broadband Penetration and Economic Growth Nexus: Evidence from Cross-country Panel Data,” Applied Economics, 46(35):4360–4369.10.1080/00036846.2014.957444Suche in Google Scholar
Atasoy, H. (2013) “The Effects of Broadband Internet Expansion on Labor Market Outcomes,” Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 66(2):315–345.10.1177/001979391306600202Suche in Google Scholar
Bai, Y. (2016) “The Faster, the Better? The Impact of Internet Speed on Employment,” Working paper. Retrieved from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2772691 (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).10.2139/ssrn.2772691Suche in Google Scholar
Bertschek, I. and T. Niebel (2016) “Mobile and More Productive? Firm-Level Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Mobile Internet Use,” Telecommunications Policy, 40(9):888–898.10.1016/j.telpol.2016.05.007Suche in Google Scholar
Bertschek, I., D. Cerquera and G. J. Klein (2013) “More Bits–More Bucks? Measuring the Impact of Broadband Internet on Firm Performance,” Information Economics and Policy, 25(3):190–203.10.1016/j.infoecopol.2012.11.002Suche in Google Scholar
Brynjolfsson, E. and L. M. Hitt (2000) “Beyond Computation: Information Technology, Organizational Transformation and Business Performance,” The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(4):23–48.10.1257/jep.14.4.23Suche in Google Scholar
Canzian, G., S. Poy and S. Schüller (2015) Broadband Diffusion and Firm Performance in Rural Areas: Quasi-Experimental Evidence, IZA Discussion Papers no. 9429. Retrieved from: http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/124938/1/dp9429.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Cardona, M., T. Kretschmer and T. Strobel (2013) “ICT and Productivity: Conclusions from the Empirical Literature,” Information Economics and Policy, 25(3):109–125.10.1016/j.infoecopol.2012.12.002Suche in Google Scholar
Cava-Ferreruela, I. and A. Alabau-Munoz (2006) “Broadband Policy Assessment: A Cross-national Empirical Analysis,” Telecommunications Policy, 30(8):445–463.10.1016/j.telpol.2005.12.002Suche in Google Scholar
Chakraborty, C. and B. Nandi (2011) “‘Mainline’ Telecommunications Infrastructure, Levels of Development and Economic Growth: Evidence from a Panel of Developing Countries,” Telecommunications Policy, 35(5):441–449.10.1016/j.telpol.2011.03.004Suche in Google Scholar
Colombo, M. G., A. Croce and L. Grilli (2013) “ICT Services and Small Businesses’ Productivity Gains: An Analysis of the Adoption of Broadband Internet Technology,” Information Economics and Policy, 25(3):171–189.10.1016/j.infoecopol.2012.11.001Suche in Google Scholar
Crandall, R. W. and C. L. Jackson (2001) The $500 Billion Opportunity: The Potential Economic Benefit of Widespread Diffusion of Broadband Internet Access. Washington, DC: Criterion Economics, LLC. Retrieved from: http://www.ntia.doc.gov/legacy/ntiahome/broadband/comments/verizon/ExhibitA.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Cronin, F. J., E. K. Colleran, P. L. Herbert and S. Lewitzky (1993) “Telecommunications and Growth: The Contribution of Telecommunications Infrastructure Investment to Aggregate and Sectoral Productivity,” Telecommunications Policy, 17(9):677–690.10.1016/0308-5961(93)90039-6Suche in Google Scholar
Czernich, N. (2014) “Does Broadband Internet Reduce the Unemployment Rate? Evidence for Germany,” Information Economics and Policy, 29:32–45.10.1016/j.infoecopol.2014.10.001Suche in Google Scholar
Czernich, N., O. Falck, T. Kretschmer and L. Woessmann (2011) “Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth,” The Economic Journal, 121(552):505–532.10.1111/j.1468-0297.2011.02420.xSuche in Google Scholar
De Stefano, T., R. Kneller and J. Timmis (2014) The (Fuzzy) Digital Divide: The Effect of Broadband Internet Use on UK Firm Performance. University of Nottingham Discussion Papers in Economics, (14/06). Retrieved from: http://beta.nottingham.ac.uk/economics/documents/discussion-papers/14-06.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Draca, M., R. Sadun and J. Van Reenen (2007) “Productivity and ICT: A Review of the Evidence.” In: (Mansell, R., ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Information and Communication Technologies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 100–147.Suche in Google Scholar
European Commission (2010) A Digital Agenda for Europe. Retrieved from: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0245&from=EN (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
European Commission (2016) Connectivity for a Competitive Digital Single Market – Towards a European Gigabit Society. Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/dae/document.cfm?doc_id=17182 (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
FCC (2010a) Connecting America: The National Broadband Plan. Retrieved from: https://transition.fcc.gov/national-broadband-plan/national-broadband-plan.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
FCC (2010b) Sixth Broadband Deployment Report. Retrieved from: https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-129A1_Rcd.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Forman, C., A. Goldfarb and S. Greenstein (2012) “The Internet and Local Wages: A Puzzle,” American Economic Review, 102:556–575.10.1257/aer.102.1.556Suche in Google Scholar
Greenstein, S. M. and P. T. Spiller (1995) “Modern Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Activity: An Empirical Investigation,” Industrial and Corporate Change, 4(4):647–665.10.1093/icc/4.4.647Suche in Google Scholar
Grimes, A., C. Ren and P. Stevens (2012) “The Need for Speed: Impacts of Internet Connectivity on Firm Productivity,” Journal of Productivity Analysis, 37(2):187–201.10.1007/s11123-011-0237-zSuche in Google Scholar
Gruber, H. and P. Koutroumpis (2011) “Mobile Telecommunications and the Impact on Economic Development,” Economic Policy, 26(67):387–426.10.1111/j.1468-0327.2011.00266.xSuche in Google Scholar
Gruber, H., J. Hätönen and P. Koutroumpis (2014) “Broadband Access in the EU: An Assessment of Future Economic Benefits,” Telecommunications Policy, 38(11):1046–1058.10.1016/j.telpol.2014.06.007Suche in Google Scholar
Grubesic, T. H. (2008) “Spatial Data Constraints: Implications for Measuring Broadband,” Telecommunications Policy, 32(7):490–502.10.1016/j.telpol.2008.05.002Suche in Google Scholar
Haller, S. A. and S. Lyons (2015) “Broadband Adoption and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Irish Manufacturing Firms,” Telecommunications Policy, 39(1):1–13.10.1016/j.telpol.2014.10.003Suche in Google Scholar
Holt, L. and M. Jamison (2009) “Broadband and Contributions to Economic Growth: Lessons from the US Experience,” Telecommunications Policy, 33(10):575–581.10.1016/j.telpol.2009.08.008Suche in Google Scholar
ITU (2010) Definitions of World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators. March 2010, ITU, Geneva. Retrieved from: https://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/material/TelecomICT_Indicators_Definition_March2010_for_web.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Ivus, O. and M. Boland (2015) “The Employment and Wage Impact of Broadband Deployment in Canada,” Canadian Journal of Economics, 48(5):1803–1830.10.1111/caje.12180Suche in Google Scholar
Jensen, R. (2007) “The Digital Provide: Information (Technology), Market Performance, and Welfare in the South Indian Fisheries Sector,” Quarterly Journal of Economics, 122(3): 879–924.10.1162/qjec.122.3.879Suche in Google Scholar
Kandilov, I. T. and M. Renkow (2010) “Infrastructure Investment and Rural Economic Development: An Evaluation of USDA’s Broadband Loan Program,” Growth and Change, 41(2):165–191.10.1111/j.1468-2257.2010.00524.xSuche in Google Scholar
Kolko, J. (2012) “Broadband and Local Growth,” Journal of Urban Economics, 71(1):100–113.10.1016/j.jue.2011.07.004Suche in Google Scholar
Koutroumpis, P. (2009) “The Economic Impact of Broadband on Growth: A Simultaneous Approach,” Telecommunications Policy, 33(9):471–485.10.1016/j.telpol.2009.07.004Suche in Google Scholar
Lam, P. L. and A. Shiu (2010) “Economic Growth, Telecommunications Development and Productivity Growth of the Telecommunications Sector: Evidence Around the World,” Telecommunications Policy, 34(4):185–199.10.1016/j.telpol.2009.12.001Suche in Google Scholar
Lee, S. H., J. Levendis and L. Gutierrez (2012) “Telecommunications and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa,” Applied Economics, 44(4):461–469.10.1080/00036846.2010.508730Suche in Google Scholar
Mack, E. and A. Faggian (2013) “Productivity and Broadband: The Human Factor,” International Regional Science Review, 36(3):392–423.10.1177/0160017612471191Suche in Google Scholar
Mack, E. A. and S. J. Rey (2014) “An Econometric Approach for Evaluating the Linkages between Broadband and Knowledge Intensive Firms,” Telecommunications Policy, 38(1):105–118.10.1016/j.telpol.2013.06.003Suche in Google Scholar
Madden, G. and S. J. Savage (1998) “CEE Telecommunications Investment and Economic Growth,” Information Economics and Policy, 10(2):173–195.10.1016/S0167-6245(97)00020-6Suche in Google Scholar
OECD (2016) Households with Broadband Access (Indicator). Retrieved from: https://data.oecd.org/broadband/households-with-broadband-access.htm (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Röller, L. H. and L. Waverman (2001) “Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach,” American Economic Review, 91(4):909–923.10.1257/aer.91.4.909Suche in Google Scholar
Sosa, D. (2015) Early Evidence Suggests Gigabit Broadband Drives GDP. Report prepared by Analysis Group. Retrieved from: http://www.analysisgroup.com/uploadedfiles/content/insights/publishing/gigabit_broadband_sosa.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Thompson, H. G. and C. Garbacz (2011) “Economic Impacts of Mobile Versus Fixed Broadband,” Telecommunications Policy, 35(11):999–1009.10.1016/j.telpol.2011.07.004Suche in Google Scholar
Waverman, L., M. Meschi and M. Fuss (2005) “The Impact of Telecoms on Economic Growth in Developing Countries,” Vodafone Policy Paper Series, 2:10–23. Retrieved from: https://www.vodafone.com/content/dam/vodafone/about/public_policy/policy_papers/public_policy_series_2.pdf (Last accessed on 8 November 2016).Suche in Google Scholar
Whitacre, B., R. Gallardo and S. Strover (2014) “Broadband’s Contribution to Economic Growth in Rural Areas: Moving Towards a Causal Relationship,” Telecommunications Policy, 38(11):1011–1023.10.1016/j.telpol.2014.05.005Suche in Google Scholar
©2015 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston