Impact evaluation of broadband investment on coverage and household internet use in rural areas
本研究评估了西班牙农村宽带投资对覆盖率的影响，以及覆盖率提升对家庭互联网使用（如电子商务、就业机会等）的作用，发现投资显著提高了覆盖率，但未显著促进家庭互联网使用。
This work simultaneously evaluates the impact of investment on broadband coverage in rural areas and whether having better broadband coverage affects household internet use by analyzing variables such as the use of electronic commerce, employment opportunities, and interactions with the public administration, among others. We use panel data of Spanish municipalities with 100 Mb coverage and broadband investment information for the period 2013-2019 provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation (MEADT), a survey on household internet use from the Spanish Statistical Institute, and other public databases. Our methodological approach combines the difference-in-differences method, Inverse Probability Weight (IPW), and the Instrumental Variable technique. The estimated reduced form is a second-best approach motivated by the lack of data on adoption. The initial results show a rural digital divide in Spain, with significant differences between urban areas (90% coverage) and rural areas (38%). The impact evaluation shows that rural municipalities that have made use of broadband investment subsidies notably increase their 100 Mb coverage compared to similar municipalities that have not used this subsidies. Regarding the effect of better coverage on household internet use, the results indicate that high-speed coverage in rural areas does not significantly influence household internet use in these areas.