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Place‐based subsidies and employment growth in rural America: Evidence from the broadband initiatives programme

Author

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  • Anil Rupasingha
  • John Pender
  • Ryan Williams
  • Joshua Goldstein
  • Devika Nair

Abstract

This paper studies the labour market effects of the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), a programme authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to promote broadband deployment, mainly in rural areas. The BIP is one of the largest USDA broadband programmes implemented to date, providing more than $3.4 billion in grants and loans in FY 2010. We investigate the impacts of BIP investments on employment outcomes in BIP‐recipient Census tracts compared to similar tracts outside of BIP project service areas between the inception of the programme in 2010 and 2019. We use a quasi‐experimental research design that combines difference‐in‐difference regression with propensity score matching estimation to identify the causal effect of the BIP investments on employment outcomes. We find that the BIP investments had a positive overall effect on employment growth that increased over time. The subsidized investments had a greater effect on employment in startups than in incumbent businesses, in the goods‐producing sector and the information and communications technology sector than other sectors, and a greater effect in micropolitan census tracts than tracts located in metropolitan areas or in small town and remote rural locations. Este artículo estudia los efectos en el mercado laboral del Programa de Iniciativas de Banda Ancha (BIP, por sus siglas en inglés), un programa autorizado por la Ley de Recuperación y Reinversión de Estados Unidos de 2009 para promover el despliegue de la banda ancha, principalmente en zonas rurales. El BIP es uno de los mayores programas de banda ancha del USDA ejecutados hasta la fecha, y en el 2010 concedió más de 3.400 millones de dólares en subvenciones y préstamos. Se investigaron los impactos de las inversiones del BIP en los resultados de empleo en los tramos censales receptores de BIP en comparación con tramos similares fuera de las áreas cubiertas por el proyecto BIP entre el inicio del programa en 2010 y 2019. Se utilizó un diseño de investigación cuasi‐experimental que combina la regresión de diferencias en diferencias con una estimación basada en pareamiento por puntaje de propensión para identificar el efecto causal de las inversiones del BIP en los resultados de empleo. Las inversiones del BIP tuvieron un efecto global positivo en el crecimiento del empleo, que aumentó con el tiempo. Las inversiones subvencionadas tuvieron un mayor efecto sobre el empleo en las empresas de nueva creación que en las ya existentes, en el sector de la producción de bienes y en el sector de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones que en otros sectores, y un mayor efecto en los tramos censales micropolitanos que en los situados en áreas metropolitanas o en localidades rurales pequeñas y remotas. 本稿では、2009年アメリカ復興・再投資法によって認可された、主に農村地域におけるブロードバンドの導入を促進するためのプログラムであるブロードバンド・イニシアティブ・プログラム(Broadband Initiatives Program:BIP)の労働市場への影響を検討する。BIPは、2010年度には34億ドル以上の補助金と融資を提供しており、これまでに実施された米国農務省のブロードバンド・プログラムの中でも最大規模である。プログラムが開始された2010年から2019年までの、国勢統計区におけるBIP受給者の雇用成果に対するBIP投資の影響を、BIPプロジェクトのサービス対象地域以外の同様の地域と比較して調査した。差分の差分法と傾向スコアマッチング推定を組み合わせた疑似実験デザインを用いて、BIP投資が雇用成果に及ぼす因果効果の解明を試みた。BIP投資は全体的に雇用増加に全体的なプラスの効果をもたらし、さらにその効果は時間の経過とともに増大した。補助金による投資は、既存の企業の雇用よりもスタートアップの雇用に大きな影響を与え、他の部門よりも財生産部門や情報通信技術部門に大きな影響を与え、小都市の国勢統計区では大都市圏や小さな町あるいは僻地の国勢統計区よりも大きな影響を与えていた。

Suggested Citation

  • Anil Rupasingha & John Pender & Ryan Williams & Joshua Goldstein & Devika Nair, 2023. "Place‐based subsidies and employment growth in rural America: Evidence from the broadband initiatives programme," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 102(4), pages 677-708, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:presci:v:102:y:2023:i:4:p:677-708
    DOI: 10.1111/pirs.12740
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    References listed on IDEAS

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