Funding entity KSNET
Participated by KSNET
This study examines the effects of mobile broadband deployments on socioeconomic outcomes in Mexico and Brazil. The analysis draws on municipal-level panel datasets built from local sources, for the period in which operators rolled out 3G and 4G mobile broadband networks. The empirical strategy exploits variations in the timing of network deployment, as well as the fact that several municipalities remained unserved during the period of analysis. To estimate impact, the study uses an alternative to the standard two-way fixed-effects (TWFE) estimator proposed by Callaway and Sant’Anna (2021). The results indicate that access to mobile broadband has had substantial socioeconomic effects in both countries, leading to significant increases in income, spending, transfers received, and reductions in poverty and unemployment. These gains appear to be even more pronounced among those municipalities facing vulnerable conditions, such as low-income or remotely located ones. The fact that the lowly developed municipalities in both countries seem to be benefiting more from mobile broadband may suggest that it can constitute a factor favoring regional convergence.
Layman's summary: The objective of the proposed collaboration is to develop econometric models to estimate the socioeconomic impact of the arrival of 3G and 4G technologies at the municipal level in Mexico and Brazil.
Techniques employed: Differences in differences
KSNET
