IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v148y2019ics004016251930112x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The economic impact of broadband: Evidence from OECD countries

Author

Listed:
  • Koutroumpis, Pantelis

Abstract

Information networks have a significant impact on modern economies. This is reflected by their adoption and use across countries along with the increasing quality of the networks. As a result, the impacts on the economy are driven both by the level of adoption and the quality of the connections. Looking at the OECD countries between 2002 and 2016, I find a consistent effect of broadband adoption on national economic output with diminishing returns to scale. I also find that speed is a moderator of these effects and identify a speed threshold, beyond which further quality increases are deemed unproductive. This speed-threshold increases over time as more applications and skills become available. The measurement of adoption levels and speeds helps formulate a policy tool that guides the development of new communications networks. It also shapes the key priorities in terms of their coverage and quality trade-offs.

Suggested Citation

  • Koutroumpis, Pantelis, 2019. "The economic impact of broadband: Evidence from OECD countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:148:y:2019:i:c:s004016251930112x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119719
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004016251930112X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2019.119719?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lars-Hendrik Roller & Leonard Waverman, 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(4), pages 909-923, September.
    2. Greenstein, Shane & McDevitt, Ryan C., 2011. "The broadband bonus: Estimating broadband Internet's economic value," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 617-632, August.
    3. Anthony B. Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "Top Incomes in the Long Run of History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-71, March.
    4. Ibrahim Kholilul Rohman & Erik Bohlin, 2012. "Does broadband speed really matter as a driver of economic growth? Investigating OECD countries," International Journal of Management and Network Economics, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(4), pages 336-356.
    5. Kavetsos, Georgios & Koutroumpis, Pantelis, 2011. "Technological affluence and subjective well-being," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 742-753.
    6. Rohman, Ibrahim Kholilul & Bohlin, Erik, 2013. "Impact of broadband speed on household income: Comparing OECD and BIC," 24th European Regional ITS Conference, Florence 2013 88531, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    7. Gabriel Ahlfeldt & Pantelis Koutroumpis & Tommaso Valletti, 2017. "Speed 2.0: Evaluating Access to Universal Digital Highways," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 586-625.
    8. Kolko, Jed, 2012. "Broadband and local growth," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 100-113.
    9. Daron Acemoglu & Melissa Dell, 2010. "Productivity Differences between and within Countries," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 2(1), pages 169-188, January.
    10. Pénard, Thierry & Poussing, Nicolas & Suire, Raphaël, 2013. "Does the Internet make people happier?," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 105-116.
    11. Canzian, Giulia & Poy, Samuele & Schüller, Simone, 2015. "Broadband Diffusion and Firm Performance in Rural Areas: Quasi-Experimental Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 9429, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Austan Goolsbee & Peter J. Klenow, 2006. "Valuing Consumer Products by the Time Spent Using Them: An Application to the Internet," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 108-113, May.
    13. Chris Forman & Avi Goldfarb & Shane Greenstein, 2012. "The Internet and Local Wages: A Puzzle," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 556-575, February.
    14. Graham, Carol & Nikolova, Milena, 2013. "Does access to information technology make people happier? Insights from well-being surveys from around the world," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 126-139.
    15. Nina Czernich & Oliver Falck & Tobias Kretschmer & Ludger Woessmann, 2011. "Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121(552), pages 505-532, May.
    16. Harald Gruber & Pantelis Koutroumpis, 2011. "Mobile telecommunications and the impact on economic development [Discussion of “Why is infrastructure important?” in Alicia H. Munnell, (ed.), Is there a shortfall in public capital investment?]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 26(67), pages 387-426.
    17. Nadine Fabritz, 2013. "The Impact of Broadband on Economic Activity in Rural Areas: Evidence from German Municipalities," ifo Working Paper Series 166, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    18. Koutroumpis, Pantelis, 2009. "The economic impact of broadband on growth: A simultaneous approach," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 471-485, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Oughton, Edward J. & Amaglobeli, David & Moszoro, Marian, 2023. "What would it cost to connect the unconnected? Estimating global universal broadband infrastructure investment," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(10).
    2. Yifeng Philip Chen & Edward J. Oughton & Jakub Zagdanski & Maggie Mo Jia & Peter Tyler, 2023. "Crowdsourced data indicates broadband has a positive impact on local business creation," Papers 2308.14734, arXiv.org.
    3. Oughton, Edward J. & Comini, Niccolò & Foster, Vivien & Hall, Jim W., 2022. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    4. Aravantinos, Elias & Petre, Konstantin & Katsianis, Dimitris & Varoutas, Dimitris, 2021. "Determinants of FTTH tariffs evolution in EU: A panel data analysis," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(10).
    5. Ryota Nakatani, 2023. "Productivity drivers of infrastructure companies: Network industries utilizing economies of scale in the digital era," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 1273-1298, December.
    6. Han, Luyi & Wojan, Timothy R. & Goetz, Stephan J., 2024. "Cloud computing and rural globalization: Evidence for the U.S. nonfarm economy," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(8).
    7. Davide Quaglione & Dario D’Ingiullo & Linda Meleo, 2023. "Fixed and mobile broadband penetration and CO2 emissions: evidence from OECD countries," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(3), pages 795-816, October.
    8. Li, Yutao & Zhang, Jinning & Lyu, Yanwei, 2023. "Does telecommunications infrastructure promote entrepreneurship in developing countries? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 106-119.
    9. Tranos, Emmanouil & Kitsos, Tasos & Wolf, Levi John, 2024. "Fast and furious: the productivity effects of the geography of experienced internet speeds," OSF Preprints va375, Center for Open Science.
    10. Bai, Yang & Wang, Ryan Yang & Jayakar, Krishna, 2022. "What $2.5 billion can buy: The effect of the Broadband Initiatives Program on farm productivity," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
    11. Elias Aravantinos & Dimitris Varoutas, 2022. "A revisit of fixed and mobile broadband diffusion in the OECD: a new classification," Netnomics, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 71-84, October.
    12. Feng, Yuan & Chen, Zhi & Nie, Changfei, 2023. "The effect of broadband infrastructure construction on urban green innovation: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 581-598.
    13. Nakatani, Ryota, 2022. "Productivity drivers of infrastructure companies: network industries to maximize economies of scale in the digital era," MPRA Paper 115531, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Fan, Min & Zhou, Yun & Lu, Zhixi & Gao, Sen, 2024. "Fintech's impact on green productivity in China: Role of fossil fuel energy structure, environmental regulations, government expenditure, and R&D investment," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Briglauer, Wolfgang & Dürr, Niklas & Gugler, Klaus, 2021. "A retrospective study on the regional benefits and spillover effects of high-speed broadband networks: Evidence from German counties," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    16. Edward J Oughton & Niccol`o Comini & Vivien Foster & Jim W Hall, 2021. "Policy choices can help keep 4G and 5G universal broadband affordable," Papers 2101.07820, arXiv.org, revised Feb 2021.
    17. Zhou, Fengxiu & Wen, Huwei & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Broadband infrastructure and export growth," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).
    18. Mugabe Roger & Liu Shulin & Brima Sesay, 2022. "ICT Development, Innovation Diffusion and Sustainable Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, October.
    19. Mokthtari Moughari, Mahdieh & Daim, Tugrul U., 2023. "Developing a model of technological innovation for export development in developing countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    20. Philip Chen & Edward J Oughton & Pete Tyler & Mo Jia & Jakub Zagdanski, 2020. "Evaluating the impact of next generation broadband on local business creation," Papers 2010.14113, arXiv.org.
    21. Bo Li & Jing Liu & Qian Liu & Muhammad Mohiuddin, 2022. "The Effects of Broadband Infrastructure on Carbon Emission Efficiency of Resource-Based Cities in China: A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the “Broadband China” Pilot Policy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-27, May.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jung, Juan & López-Bazo, Enrique, 2020. "On the regional impact of broadband on productivity: The case of Brazil," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1).
    2. Briglauer, Wolfgang & Dürr, Niklas S. & Falck, Oliver & Hüschelrath, Kai, 2019. "Does state aid for broadband deployment in rural areas close the digital and economic divide?," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 68-85.
    3. Stockinger, Bastian, 2017. "The effect of broadband internet on establishments' employment growth: evidence from Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 201719, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    4. Edquist, Harald, 2022. "The economic impact of mobile broadband speed," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).
    5. Bertschek, Irene & Briglauer, Wolfgang & Hüschelrath, Kai & Kauf, Benedikt & Niebel, Thomas, 2016. "The economic impacts of telecommunications networks and broadband internet: A survey," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-056, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    6. Koutroumpis, Pantelis & Leiponen, Aija, 2016. "Crowdsourcing mobile coverage," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 532-544.
    7. Gómez-Barroso, José Luis & Marbán-Flores, Raquel, 2020. "Telecommunications and economic development – The 21st century: Making the evidence stronger," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(2).
    8. Gabriel Ahlfeldt & Pantelis Koutroumpis & Tommaso Valletti, 2017. "Speed 2.0: Evaluating Access to Universal Digital Highways," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 586-625.
    9. Abdulqadir, Idris A. & Asongu, Simplice A., 2022. "The asymmetric effect of internet access on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 44-61.
    10. Briglauer, Wolfgang & Stocker, Volker, 2020. "Bedeutung digitaler Infrastrukturen und Dienste und Maßnahmen zur Förderung der Resilienz in Krisenzeiten," Policy Notes 42, EcoAustria – Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Abdulqadir, Idris & Asongu, Simplice, 2021. "The asymmetric effect of internet access on economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa: Insight from a dynamic panel threshold regression," MPRA Paper 109904, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Ferdinand Pavel & Yann Girard & Arno Hantzsche & Anselm Mattes & Julius Pahlke & Katherina Peter, 2014. "Wachstumsfaktor Telekommunikation: zum Beitrag der Telekommunikationsbranche zur wirtschaftlichen Entwicklung in Deutschland; Endbericht," DIW Berlin: Politikberatung kompakt, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, volume 78, number pbk78, April.
    13. Lobo, Bento J. & Alam, Md Rafayet & Whitacre, Brian E., 2020. "Broadband speed and unemployment rates: Data and measurement issues," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1).
    14. Kongaut, Chatchai & Bohlin, Erik, 2014. "Impact of broadband speed on economic outputs: An empirical study of OECD countries," 25th European Regional ITS Conference, Brussels 2014 101415, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    15. Prieger, James E., 2013. "The broadband digital divide and the economic benefits of mobile broadband for rural areas," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 483-502.
    16. Bahia, Kalvin & Castells, Pau & Pedrós, Xavier, 2019. "The impact of mobile technology on economic growth: global insights from 2000-2017 developments," 30th European Regional ITS Conference, Helsinki 2019 205164, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).
    17. Canzian, Giulia & Poy, Samuele & Schüller, Simone, 2019. "Broadband upgrade and firm performance in rural areas: Quasi-experimental evidence," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 87-103.
    18. Nadine Fabritz, 2015. "Investment in ICT: Determinants and Economic Implications," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 60.
    19. Hernan Galperin & M. Fernanda Viecens, 2017. "Connected for Development? Theory and evidence about the impact of Internet technologies on poverty alleviation," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(3), pages 315-336, May.
    20. Czernich, Nina, 2014. "Does broadband internet reduce the unemployment rate? Evidence for Germany," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 32-45.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:148:y:2019:i:c:s004016251930112x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.