American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach
American Economic Review
vol. 91,
no. 4, September 2001
(pp. 909–923)
Abstract
In this paper we investigate how telecommunications infrastructure affects economic growth. We use evidence from 21 OECD countries over a 20-year period to examine the impacts that telecommunications developments may have had. We jointly estimate a micromodel for telecommunication investment with a macro production function. We find evidence of a significant positive causal link, especially when a critical mass of telecommunications infrastructure is present. Interestingly, the critical mass appears to be at a level of telecommunications infrastructure that is near universal service.Citation
Roller, Lars-Hendrik, and Leonard Waverman. 2001. "Telecommunications Infrastructure and Economic Development: A Simultaneous Approach." American Economic Review, 91 (4): 909–923. DOI: 10.1257/aer.91.4.909JEL Classification
- O47 Measurement of Economic Growth; Aggregate Productivity; Cross-Country Output Convergence
- L96 Telecommunications
- O33 Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
- H54 National Government Expenditures and Related Policies: Infrastructures; Other Public Investment and Capital Stock