Lehr, William, Sharon Gillett, and Martin Sirbu (2005). Measuring
Broadband's Economic Impact. Broadband Properties Magazine, December
2005. http://cfp.mit.edu/groups/broadband/measuring_bb_pp.html. See the
same URL for academic and government report versions of the research.
This report by a group of MIT based researchers is a good summary of
research to date on the relationship between broadband and the economy.
It includes a discussion of why it is so difficult to measure this
relationship, and what data available in the future may help make this
investigation easier. The report shows, as common sense suggests, that
broadband access does matter to the economy. In particular, the
research shows that: "between 1998 and 2002, communities (in the United
States) in which mass-market broadband became available by December
1999 experienced more rapid growth in employment, number of businesses
overall, and businesses in IT-intensive sectors." And that "while the
available data does not demonstrate statistically significant impacts
on wages, the effects of broadband availability by 1999 can also be
observed in higher market rates for rental housing (a proxy for
property values) in 2000." The findings of this study can be used to
support the argument that local broadband will help the community
economy, while recognizing that the affects of this impact may be
difficult to measure.