Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth

The Expansion of Broadband Internet Has Furthered Economic Growth

Digital technologies can facilitate more efficient production, which ultimately leads to additional growth and prosperity. Thus, we find in one study that the introduction and expansion of broadband internet constituted an important determinant of economic growth. During the introduction phase of high-speed internet, a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration - roughly the distance of Germany from leading OECD countries - raised annual per-capita growth by 0.9-1.5 percentage points.

Here you can learn more about my research on this topic.

My most important academic paper on the topic is:

Broadband Infrastructure and Economic Growth (with N. Czernich, O. Falck, and T. Kretschmer). Economic Journal 121 (552): 505-532, 2011

A contribution about my research results in The Economist, 2.6.2012

Additional material is available in German.