How did Location Affect Adoption of the Commercial Internet? Global Village, Urban Density, and Industry Composition

Chris Forman, Avi Goldfarb, Shane Greenstein

NBER Working Paper No. 9979
Issued in September 2003
NBER Program(s):   IO   PR

The authors test opposing theories on how urban locations influenced the diffusion of Internet technology. They find evidence that, controlling for industry, participation in the Internet is more likely in rural areas than in urban areas. Nevertheless, talk of the dissolution of cities is premature. Frontier Internet technologies appear more often at establishments in urban areas, even with industry controls. Major urban areas also contain many establishments from information technology-intensive industries, whose presence could reinforce the concentration of frontier Internet technologies in these areas. However, information technology-intensive industries are numerous and widespread. Hence, so is the use of frontier technology.

(479 K)

Published: Forman, Chris, Avi Goldfarb and Shane Greenstein. "How Did Location Affect Adoption Of The Commercial Internet? Global Village vs. Urban Leadership," Journal of Urban Economics, 2005, v58(3,Nov), 389-420.

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