Despite the pervasiveness of the Internet by 2010, 21% of Canadian households and some 29% of American households did not go online. The digital divide based on location (urban versus rural) persists, although it is narrowing. Although the digital divides based on income, education and age have...

This paper examines the effect of broadband availability on the unemployment rate at the county level in the United States. Using data on broadband availability from the National Broadband Map and census data on unemployment for all 3000-plus counties in the United States, this paper estimates...

This paper investigates whether the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), implemented as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) had an impact on farm productivity, defined as per capita farm sales, in the counties that received any BIP funding. Appropriate techniques...

Emerging economies recognize the substantial economic impact of broadband and hence are increasingly focusing on National Broadband Plans (NBPs). There is recognition that there are significant challenges in designing the institutional infrastructure required for broadband deployment, which are...