We evaluate the impact of a major European state aid program for broadband deployment applied to rural areas in the German State of Bavaria in the years 2010 and 2011. Using difference-in-differences estimation strategies, we find that aided municipalities have – depending on broadband quality...

We evaluate the impact of a major European state aid programme for broadband deployment applied to rural areas in the German state of Bavaria in the years 2010 and 2011. Using matched difference-in-differences estimation strategies, we find that aided municipalities have – depending on...

In the vast development of technologies nowadays, demand for radio spectrum in the European Union (EU) is increasing exponentially, especially for mobile data consumption due to an increasing usage of smart devices with its bandwidth-hungry applications, and also the rising of machine-to-machine...

The appearance and spread of COVID-19 have accentuated the connectivity and digitization lag in Latin American and Caribbean countries. The lockdowns imposed to reduce the spread of the virus increased the demand for digital tools that would allow economic, educational, and social activities to...

Radio spectrum represents a scarce resource assigned to operators by national regulatory authorities through auctions, beauty contests or other mechanisms, aimed at introducing sufficient incentives for an optimal use of such a resource. A prerequisite for designing efficient assignment methods...

This paper provides evidence of large positive effects of Internet use on local firm performance, using a sample of some 30,000 firms from 38 developing and transition countries. We adopt an IV approach emphasizing firm's digital vulnerability to seismic shocks upon the telecommunications...

We estimate the impact of Internet diffusion on local firm performance in developing and transition economies, by adopting an instrumental variable approach reflecting firm's vulnerability to seismic shocks upon the telecommunications submarine cable (SMC) network. IV within fixed-effect...

Smartphones have revolutionized how individuals use consumer electronics and consume digital goods. I examine the extent to which smartphones have substituted other digital devices and expanded overall digital consumption. To do so, I use newly available Korean panel survey data on individuals'...

This paper discusses key priorities and policy recommendations to accelerate Slovenia’s digital transformation. The government’s ambitious digitalisation strategy (Digital Slovenia 2030 Strategy) aims at putting Slovenia among the five most digitalised countries in Europe. Achieving this...

This paper offers evidence of the causal impact of high-speed Internet on sexual behavior and HIV spread in Africa. Our identification strategy exploits individual-level data combined with information on the gradual arrival of submarine Internet cables in Africa’s coastal regions. Robust...