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Entrepreneurship, Broadband, and Gender: Evidence from Establishment Births in Rural America

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  • Tessa Conroy
  • Sarah A. Low

Abstract

Broadband access may have important implications for establishment births in rural areas, which feature thinner markets. Broadband may be especially important for rural nonemployer businesses, particularly those without a storefront, for access to nontraditional market channels. As women are more likely to run these types of small businesses, we further expect that broadband may have important implications for women-led businesses. With an effective instrumental variable approach, we find evidence that broadband access is a key factor leading to a higher establishment birth rate across business size and gender in rural areas. This paper identifies the largest effects on nonemployer, women-led and remote rural establishments.

Suggested Citation

  • Tessa Conroy & Sarah A. Low, 2022. "Entrepreneurship, Broadband, and Gender: Evidence from Establishment Births in Rural America," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 45(1), pages 3-35, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inrsre:v:45:y:2022:i:1:p:3-35
    DOI: 10.1177/01600176211018749
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    Cited by:

    1. Zimei Liu & Yezhi Ren & Yanlan Mei, 2022. "How Does Internet Use Promote Farmer Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-15, December.
    2. Strover, Sharon & Choi, Jaewon & Schrubbe, Alexis, 2024. "Broadband, rural contexts and local economic dynamics," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3).
    3. Gary A. Wagner & Hyun Ji Lee, 2024. "Does broadband affect local economic outcomes less than we thought? Micro evidence from Louisiana," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 42(1), pages 68-93, January.
    4. Chen, Yulong & Ma, Liyuan & Orazem, Peter F., 2023. "The heterogeneous role of broadband access on establishment entry and exit by sector and urban and rural markets," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    5. Isley, Catherine & Low, Sarah A., 2022. "Broadband adoption and availability: Impacts on rural employment during COVID-19," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(7).
    6. Sun, Xiaoyan & Ding, Waverly & Xie, Xuanli, 2024. "The Internet and the gender gap in entrepreneurship: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 39(5).

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