Kathryn R. Johnson and Claudia Persico have a new NBER working paper on that topic:
Between 2000 and 2008, access to high-speed, broadband Internet access increased dramatically in the United States, but there is debate over whether high-speed Internet access improves or harms well-being. We find that a 10 percent increase in the number of county residents with broadband Internet access leads to a 1.01 percent decrease in the county’s suicide rate, as well as improvements in self-reported mental and physical health. We also find that this reduction in suicide rates may be due to economic development in regions with broadband Internet access. Regions with more broadband Internet access see lower poverty and unemployment rates. In addition, zip codes that receive broadband Internet access are seeing an increase in the number of employees and facilities. In addition, the analysis of heterogeneity shows that the positive results are concentrated in people of working age, those between 25 and 64 years old. This pattern is exactly what is predicted by the literature linking economic conditions to suicide risk.
It seems that broadband is fine (really?)
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