Gender Differences in the Effects of Internet Access on Work Absenteeism in the US

Considerable debate has ensued over the effects technologies such as the Internet might have on society and culture. In the economics literature, the effect of technologies on the labor market has been the subject of substantial research. In this analysis, a large sample of respondents is stratified into males and females and gender differences in two related questions are addressed: First, does Internet access, and presumably use, affect absenteeism from work differently for males and females? Second, to what extent does the degree of Internet access affect male vs. female work absenteeism? Regression results indicate that greater Internet access increases workplace absenteeism and gender differences are present.