BROADBAND AVAILABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT: AN ANALYSIS OF COUNTY-LEVEL DATA FROM THE NATIONAL BROADBAND MAP

Does investment in broadband infrastructure reduce unemployment? Yes, answer Jayakar and Park, reviewing broadband availability data from the National Broadband Map and unemployment statistics. Their study covers eight states selected according to a variety of demographic and economic criteria to represent a range of comparable states. The level of analysis was the county, and the sample was all 415 counties in the selected states. Jayakar and Park conclude that counties with better broadband availability had lower unemployment rates in 2011 even after controlling for other factors.