Broadband Internet in the U.S.

详细信息   

• 作者：Parajuli ; Jitendra.
• 学历：Ph.D.
• 年：2013
• 导师：Haynes, Kingsley E.,eadvisorSchintler, Laurie A.ecommittee memberStough, Roger R.ecommittee memberHazlett, Thomas W.ecommittee memberStenberg, Peter L.ecommittee member
• 毕业院校：George Mason University
• Department：Public Policy
• ISBN：9781267911780
• CBH：3552633
• Country：USA
• 语种：English
• FileSize：5950973
• Pages：219

文摘

This dissertation examines resource utilization and new firm formation in relation to broadband Internet in the U.S. Data envelopment analysis was used to assess the utilization of broadband Internet. Analyses at the state level from 2005 through 2007 suggest that broadband adoption and use is not equally efficient across the U.S. states. Although the instantaneous efficiencies are relatively high for many states, the changes in total factor productivity suggest that the efficiency of broadband adoption and use increases over time. Moreover, it is observed that efficiency values are often spatially autocorrelated, which suggest spatial dependence from spillovers or interstate competition. This leads to a particular spatial diffusion pattern in broadband adoption. A number of studies have examined the impact of broadband on migration, firm location, and economic growth. However, the relationship between broadband infrastructure and new firm formation in the U.S. has not been investigated. This dissertation fills this gap by empirically examining the relationship between broadband Internet and new firm formation for a number of randomly selected U.S. states for 2006. It is found that single-unit firm births and the provision of broadband are positive and statistically significant across almost all industry sectors in the U.S. However, the impact of broadband provisioning on new firm formation is sensitive to agglomeration and aggregate and sectoral growth patterns of states and economic sectors. Spatial regression model were used to examine the spatial dimension&mdash；dependence and heterogeneity&mdash；associated with new firm formation and broadband provision. Spatial dependence is positive and significant across states and economic sectors, which suggests that spillover effects influence new firm formation. The varying estimates of the spatial models suggest that the effect of broadband provision on new firm formation varies across space. That is, spatial heterogeneity exists in new firm formation. It is also found that spatial models that are calibrated to estimate spatial heterogeneity provide a better fit compared to the global models. However, since the significance of the estimators and the model differences could not be statistically verified, these results should be only used for exploring the variation of parameters. States have different strategies in support of broadband expansion. They need to identify the following limitations to formulate better policies. First, states must use the appropriate mix of inputs and outputs) to improve their efficiencies. Second, the provision of broadband is an important component in attracting new firms that are needed for disrupting the economic equilibrium for growth. However, there are also other factors that influence firm formation. Third, since spillover effects indicate that agglomeration is important in firm formation, a mere expansion of additional broadband services does not necessarily contribute to economic growth and development. Fourth, each region has its own comparative advantage and not all regions will equally benefit from an additional investment in broadband infrastructure. Overall, while broadband is an important infrastructure in todays economic environment, broadband policies in support of economic growth and development should not be only limited to broadband Internet. Instead, regions should take into account various regional determinants while formulating broadband policies. Broadband expansion by itself cannot turn around state or even sectorial decline and the positive impacts of broadband are significantly weakened in the face of these declines.