Impacts of the USDA broadband initiatives program on employment and telework: Evidence from confidential American community survey microdata

Abstract

The $2.5 billion USDA Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP), established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, was USDA's largest broadband program until the current ReConnect program. This study investigates the impacts of BIP on employment and telework for the period 2011–2017 using confidential American Community Survey microdata on individual workers, combined with program data and other data. Using a difference-in-difference regression framework, we find that BIP increased the likelihood of employment in the sample of all workers and in subsamples of White workers, male workers, workers in metro areas, workers in service industries, and workers specifically in information services, finance and insurance, and professional services for residents of targeted areas. BIP reduced the likelihood of employment among workers in trade and manufacturing industries. Regarding telework, BIP increased the likelihood of working at home among workers employed in information services and professional services. The study also examined the impact of BIP on individual labor force participation, revealing a significant increase in labor force participation due to the BIP. Because our dependent variables are at the worker level, not the business or regional level, and we control for local labor demand conditions using census tract and year fixed effects, we interpret these results as more likely resulting from labor supply effects rather than labor demand effects of the program.