Category: Economic Development
Economic Impact of the ARRA, Five Years Later
From the White House Council of Economic Advisors
As part of the accountability and transparency provisions included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) was charged with providing to Congress quarterly reports on the effects of the Recovery Act on overall economic activity, and on employment in particular. In this final report, we provide an assessment of the effects of the Act through the fourth quarter of 2013 as well as an assessment of subsequent jobs measures.
Arthur D. Little: “National Fibre Strategies”
The socioeconomic benefits of advanced telecommunications infrastructure and services are intuitive, as well as definitive. Global studies by Arthur D. Little on the socioeconomic benefits of broadband have demonstrated the links between advanced telecommunications and the diversity and strength of economies.
Internet Enabled Small Businesses Bolster US Economy
The Internet Association commissioned Harris Interactive to conduct qualitative and quantitative research to understand and quantify the impact Internet enabled part-time businesses have on the overall economy of the United States.
Wireless Broadband Infrastructure: A Catalyst For GDP and Job Growth
This report evaluates the economic and job-creation impacts generated by projected wireless infrastructure investments between $34 billion to $36 billion per year over the next five years.
Planning for Progress: Why National Plans Matter
In today’s digital era, the role for broadband – and the benefits of broadband connectivity – in underpinning a country’s progress have never been greater. That is why ITU and the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital Development have conducted research into the role of policy frameworks for broadband, in conjunction with Cisco.
This Report finds that there has been strong recent growth in Plans, with some 134 Plans in force by mid-2013. Plans may take different forms (e.g. legislation, policy framework, strategy and/or regulations) and vary in emphasis (e.g. IT, Information Society, ICT,
Digital Agenda, or Broadband). Plans prior to 2005 tended to focus on Information Technology (IT) or Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The Information Society proved most popular as the focus of Plans in 2007-2008, with broadband growing sharply as the focus of Plans from 2008 onwards. Most recently, Digital Agendas account for a small, but growing, number of Plans. However, all of these Plans share a common emphasis on the vital role of broadband in underpinning national competitiveness, and aim to extend national footprint of broadband networks and usage of broadband-enabled services and applications.
Broadband’s Contribution to Economic Health in Rural Areas
This paper uses the latest data on both broadband availability and adoption to empirically gauge the contribution of broadband to the economic health of rural areas. Researchers utilize availability data from the National Broadband Map aggregated to county level, and county-level adoption data from Federal Communication Commission’s Form 477. Economic health variables of interest are gathered from a variety of sources and include median household income, number of firms with paid employees, total employed, percentage in poverty, and the percentage of employees classified as either creative class or non-farm proprietors. A propensity score matching technique (between a “treated” group and a control group) is used to make causal statements regarding broadband and economic health. Researchers measure whether the growth rates between 2001 and 2010 for different economic measures are statistically different for the treated and non-treated groups, restricting the analysis to non-metropolitan counties.
Congressional Budget Office Estimates the Current Impact of Recovery Act
According to the Congressional Budget Office, which produces independent analyses of the federal budget and economic issues, the Recovery Act provided jobs for at least 200,000 people and possibly as many as 900,000 during the third quarter of 2012. Similarly, the gross domestic product increased between 0.1 and 0.7 percent during the same period and the national unemployment rate was lowered between 0.1 and 0.5 percent also as a result of the Recovery initiative, CBO added.
TechNet: 2012 State Broadband Index
In this report, the TechNet State Broadband Index rates the states on indicators of broadband adoption, network quality, and economic structure as a way of taking stock of where states stand.
ITIF: 2012 State New Economy Index
More than three years on from the end of the Great Recession, only six states have regained employment levels enjoyed prior to the recession, and 17 states are still more than 5 percent below their pre-recession employment levels. As many state economies continue to struggle through the lingering effects of the Great Recession, a question commonly asked is, “What is this seemingly invisible force that prevents the economy from returning to pre-recession and especially 1990s growth rates?” In
other words, why is it that, despite massive monetary and fiscal stimulus, employment seems locked in persistent malaise?
A broadband solution to fiscal crises
By Reed Hundt and Blair Levin, Computerworld
After Congress and the White House close the gap between the Democratic and Republican approaches to the “fiscal cliff”, there is another gap that they need to bridge: the gap between how the worlds of technology and government approach the future.
Wilson’s Greenlight Leads North Carolina in Fast Internet
Following the collapse of key industries, a town of 50,000 in eastern North Carolina had to make a hard choice. It wanted to support existing businesses and attract new ones but the cable and telephone companies were not interested in upgrading their networks for cutting edge capacity.
So Wilson decided to build its own fiber optic network, now one of the fastest in the nation, earning praise from local businesses that have a new edge over competitors in the digital economy. In response, Time Warner Cable lowered its prices and modestly boosted available Internet speeds, contributing to the $1 million saved by the community each year.
From One Community to a Smart Region, Part 2
From Scott Rourke: “I want to talk a bit about the critical success factors that must be addressed. In our particular case, I believe the single most important thing has been our emphasis on people/talent.”
From One Community to a Smart Region, Part 1
From Scott Rourke: “We at OneCommunity have been at it for about nine years. Starting with a volunteer label and some in-kind donations, our non-profit broadband network and programs to promote adoption have grown to more than $100MM in assets, with millions of annual recurring revenue to ensure our long-term sustainability. We cover a service territory consisting of 5 million people with a GDP of 170 billion USD. Our unique open-network strategy, in which we share our digital super highway with phone and cable companies, is also beginning to provide resources to sustain our ambitious programs aimed at accelerating the use of IT to benefit society. In fact, if you visit Cleveland, Ohio, there’s a good chance you’ll use our free WiFi at the airport or that your iPad or iPhone will be powered by us (and our partners).”
ILSR: “Community Broadband Creates Jobs”
MuniNetworks.org documents examples of economic development resulting from community-owned networks.