Measuring Broadband?s Economic Impact

Does broadband Internet access matter to the U.S. economy? Given how recently broadband has been adopted, little empirical research has investigated its economic impact. The analysis presented in this report represents a ?rst attempt to measure the impact of already-deployed broadband technologies by applying controlled econometric techniques to data on broadband availability and economic performance for the entire U.S.

In other words, this study differs from others in its de?nition of broadband as a here-and-now technology, its use of controlled statistical techniques, and its geographic scope encompassing the entire U.S. The results support the view that broadband access does enhance economic growth and performance, and that the assumed economic impacts of broadband are real and measurable. 

We ?nd that between 1998 and 2002, communities in which mass-market broadband was available by December 1999 experienced more rapid growth in employment, the number of businesses overall, and businesses in IT-intensive sectors, relative to comparable communities without broadband at that time.