We investigate the impact of ultra-fast broadband connections on labor income and employment. We use panel data for Italian municipalities for the period 2012–2019 and we exploit the staggered roll-out of ultra-fast broadband started in 2015. Through an event study approach, we find evidence of endogeneity between ultra-fast broadband roll-out and labor market outcomes. To identify causal relationships, we use income from pensions to implement the estimator developed by [Freyaldenhoven, S., C. Hansen, and J. M. Shapiro. 2019. “Pre-Event Trends in the Panel Event- Study Design.” American Economic Review 109 (9): 3307–3338. https://doi. org/10.1257/aer.20180609.]. We find that access to ultra-fast broadband increases the income of the self-employed by 1.3% but has no impact on workers. Such an effect is mostly driven by a rise in self-employed workers, which is concentrated in urban areas, and in municipalities at the top and bottom quartiles of labor income.

The Impact of Ultra-Broadband on Labor Income: An Event Study Approach / Abrardi, Laura; Cambini, Carlo; Sabatino, Lorien. - In: ECONOMICS OF INNOVATION AND NEW TECHNOLOGY. - ISSN 1043-8599. - 33:8(2023), pp. 1076-1095. [10.1080/10438599.2023.2275211]

The Impact of Ultra-Broadband on Labor Income: An Event Study Approach

Laura Abrardi;Carlo Cambini;Lorien Sabatino
2023

Abstract

We investigate the impact of ultra-fast broadband connections on labor income and employment. We use panel data for Italian municipalities for the period 2012–2019 and we exploit the staggered roll-out of ultra-fast broadband started in 2015. Through an event study approach, we find evidence of endogeneity between ultra-fast broadband roll-out and labor market outcomes. To identify causal relationships, we use income from pensions to implement the estimator developed by [Freyaldenhoven, S., C. Hansen, and J. M. Shapiro. 2019. “Pre-Event Trends in the Panel Event- Study Design.” American Economic Review 109 (9): 3307–3338. https://doi. org/10.1257/aer.20180609.]. We find that access to ultra-fast broadband increases the income of the self-employed by 1.3% but has no impact on workers. Such an effect is mostly driven by a rise in self-employed workers, which is concentrated in urban areas, and in municipalities at the top and bottom quartiles of labor income.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/2979103