The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program aims to provide access to 100/20 Mbps Internet speeds throughout the United States. Under this metric, many rural areas in the United States are considered unserved or underserved, often with fewer providers offering lower speeds. This paper estimates the associations between broadband speeds and broadband adoption in areas across the United States. Lack of access to Internet connections sufficiently fast to meet a household’s needs may be a disincentive for Internet adoption. Additionally, more unique providers offering higher speed plans could increase adoption through local price and quality competition. We find two main results. First, increases in broadband provision do not always increase adoption rates, especially at higher speeds. Second, adoption rates for higher income households are less sensitive to increases in higher speed provision in urban areas, but more sensitive in rural areas, suggesting they are often the first adopters of higher speed technologies. Poorer households are the inverse (sensitive in urban areas, insensitive in rural areas), suggesting price or preference changes with income across rurality. The relationship between provision and adoption is strongest in urban commuting zones, where markets are less saturated than urban cores but demand remains sufficiently high to respond to expanded provision.

Despite development efforts, Native Nations exhibit higher poverty rates and associated social concerns than other US areas. Business development is a way to sustainably reduce poverty. This article uses several estimation techniques to provide longitudinal descriptive evidence on business activity in Native Nations sharing geographies with the contiguous United States using county level data spanning portions of the Self-Determination Era (1968–2000) and the Nation-to-Nation Era (2000-present). In doing so, this article contributes to existing work about Native American economic development by assessing business trends in Native areas over time. The analysis yielded three important findings. First, Native American counties have higher firm counts and business churn per capita than other counties. Second, Native American businesses are more likely to be employers than nonemployers on average, suggesting Native American businesses reach the important business milestone of having employees at a higher percentage than Non-Native American businesses. Third, employment in Native American areas is especially concentrated in a few sectors (e.g., construction, retail trade, and accommodation and food services), and while these areas were less concentrated than Non-Native American counties in the early 2000s, there is suggestive evidence that they are becoming more concentrated over time. In terms of implications, policy should continue to take a more progressive stance in Native American areas. Policy should aim to improve entrepreneurship and industrial diversity in those areas to improve economic resiliency. Long-term policies should focus on diversifying the local economies of Native American counties to more sustainable engines of growth.

This article provides a systematic review of the quantitative social science research on broadband Internet technology in rural areas. Specifically, we summarize the literature on 1) rural broadband availability and adoption behaviors and 2) the implications of these behaviors for rural businesses, public policy initiatives, and regional development. In the studies reviewed, rural areas suffer from both lower availability and lower adoption rates compared to their urban counterparts. However, researchers disagree on whether supply frictions inherent to rural areas or heterogeneous demand and adoption behaviors are the major cause of this outcome. Researchers widely agree that high-speed Internet improves economic outcomes of rural areas, whether it is through increases in business activity or in more general economic development measures (e.g. productivity, jobs, income). Impact evaluations of rural broadband policy initiatives produced mixed results, highlighting the need for a better understanding of agents' incentives. This review points to four areas for future research. One, assessments of the long-term impact of broadband on rural economies. Two, analyses of the net effect of broadband on economic development outcomes (e.g. migrants, job creation). Three, assessments of economic development impacts associated with broadband speed. Four, assessments of the efficacy of broadband policies.

This study identifies alternative occupations for heavy truck drivers and evaluates the relative attractiveness of these alternatives in terms of compensation, ease of entry and future job growth. We also evaluate the geographic correspondence between truck driving jobs and available alternatives within the same state given research evidence about geographic rigidities in job seekers. We develop two strategies for identifying alternative occupations. One approach suggests that there may not be sufficient job alternatives for a displacement of 35% or more of the truck-driving workforce. The second alternative suggests insufficient job alternatives when displacement levels exceed 50%. Despite these varied pictures, our results present some important trends among job alternatives. Most alternatives were in Job Zones 1 and 2 which require little additional training and/or education for displaced drivers. Unfortunately, the identified alternatives paid lower wages than truck-driving jobs, indicating a potential loss of income. The projected demand for alternative jobs also varied by occupation. Some alternatives are projected to have employment growth, while others are projected to have job losses. Lastly, there were geographic trends in states projected to experience greater losses of driving jobs, and that do not have sufficient alternative jobs for workers. Our findings indicate that this is particularly true for states located in Middle America. Proactive labor policies that are tailored to the regional labor market and available job alternatives will be needed to help truck drivers transition into new occupations. These policies should be particularly mindful of the specific characteristics of the truck-driving workforce.

Information and knowledge spillovers are critical for innovation creation. However, innovation creation is clumpy across regions, and there are noticeable innovation gaps between rural and urban areas. We hypothesize that broadband Internet connections help rural firms gain access to virtual knowledge spillovers, which improves their success with research and development (R&D) activities. To test this hypothesis, we estimate the extent that broadband access impacts two measures of an innovative firm’s early R&D activities: (1) the likelihood of receiving a phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) award for a first-time phase I awardee and (2) the number of phase II SBIR awards received for all firms that received a phase I award. The models use a novel Census tract level database consisting of broadband availability data matched to firm-level Dun and Bradstreet data (similar to NETS), firm-level SBIR awards data, and other tract-level and county-level secondary data. Results show that the number of Internet providers in a non-metropolitan area increases the number of phase II awards that firms receive on average, and greater broadband access increases the likelihood of non-metro first-time phase I awardees receiving phase II awards. The policy implication of these results is that investments in broadband can help close the innovation gap between urban and rural areas, thereby encouraging economic growth in rural areas.

Severe flooding events often cause significant damage to an area, including affecting the local economy, disrupting transportation, and damaging infrastructure. While raw statistics offer some understanding of crop and property-related damages, resulting from large-scale floods, we also need to consider the longer-term impacts and recovery within an area and the interaction between adjacent areas during the recovery process. In this paper, we examine the impacts of major and minor flood events on business employment and the number of establishments in different sectors of the economy. While we find that flood events had a negative short-run impact on agricultural services and particularly small establishments, estimations show positive impacts in the service sector. We also identify significant spatial spillovers.

While disparities in broadband in rural areas are well documented, little research exists about broadband in tribal communities. This gap means we lack information about the trajectory of broadband deployment in tribal areas. It also means we lack comparative information about the similarities or differences in the trajectory of broadband deployment in tribal areas compared to non-tribal areas (e.g. urban and rural areas). To address this gap in our knowledge, this study utilizes longitudinal tract data constructed from information in the FCC Form 477 database to analyze broadband provision in tribal areas from 2014 to 2020. Empirical results show that rural tribes may be falling further behind the rest of the nation in broadband provision, while metropolitan tribal areas now enjoy better provision levels, on average, than their non-tribal counterparts. Additionally, the nuances of broadband distributions across tribal, rural, and urban areas make clear that a one-size-fits-all policy to aid tribal communities is inappropriate to address these and other related challenges. This is especially true as concerns about the intersection of federal broadband policy with tribal sovereignty and self-determination emerge.

Much of our understanding about innovative establishments is based on research linked to agglomeration economies. This implies that policies designed to encourage and increase innovative activities assume an urban-centric framework or strategy. However, many of these assumptions underlying innovative policies may not accurately reflect rural establishments or the regions in which rural establishments operate. In this chapter, we examine new research specifically focused on innovative rural establishments by exploring a unique data set, the 2014 Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS), used by these rural-focused studies. These data and studies reveal important distinctions between rural and urban establishments, such as, the intellectual property (IP) strategies used as well as the types of industries in which the establishments operate and develop innovations. The REIS data include about 11,000 establishment-level observations, 75% of which are of rural establishments, as well as the largest range of innovations measure (40+) contained within a single establishment-level data set. As part of our exploration, we also consider innovation creation through the lens of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Our motivation is to improve our understanding and framework regarding rural innovation, and thus, rural-focused polices that may catalyze innovation in rural places.

What are the best proxies for innovation and do the best proxies vary by type of region? A commonly used and easily obtained measure is patenting, but there may be disadvantages to using it exclusively. We compare patents to 39 alternative innovation measures in terms of how they perform across tradeable urban and rural establishments. Data are from the USDA's 2014 National Survey of Business Competitiveness, a survey with nearly 11,000 respondents, with a rural region over-sample (25% of establishments responding are urban and 75% are rural). We employ a bivariate probit model using as controls a number of establishment-level characteristics for our analysis. A log likelihood ratio test confirms that urban and rural establishments should be modeled separately. While patents may provide a reasonable measure of innovative activity for urban establishments, they are more a problematic measure for rural establishments. We conclude with a brief discussion of implications and study limitations.

Rural economic development strategies increasingly focus on "homegrown" economic policies, including investing in entrepreneurial development. However, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these strategies, in part because of data constraints. Using a mixed-methods approach, basic t-tests, fixed-effect probit regression, and propensity scoring techniques on data from the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey, this article tests the effectiveness of federal policies in inducing innovative activity in rural and urban establishments. The authors also explore indirect comparisons between rural and urban establishments. They find that Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards can increase the likelihood that an establishment will act innovatively and that this effect may be larger in rural settings than in urban settings. Results suggest that targeted public investment can induce rural innovation.

Studies investigating the linkages between broadband and new business activity in countries around the world have produced mixed results and found important nuances in this relationship related to particular industries, geography, the skill level of the workforce, and broadband speed. Findings related to speed are particularly important in the context of the present study because it suggests access to the latest Internet technology is what matters to new businesses creation. Given this likely nuance behind broadband availability and new business creation, the goal of this study is to investigate the connection between the Internet and new business activity, building on regional and rural-focused studies within the United States (U.S.). Specifically, our paper conducts a nationwide assessment of the relationship between broadband and new business activity, focusing on the impact of broadband at the dawn of the Internet age when it had the most potential to disrupt industries and open up new entrepreneurial opportunities. Using an instrumental variables approach based on the development of the Internet by the U.S. military, we estimate the impact of broadband infrastructure on total and net new business creation in the early years of broadband availability. Results suggest that access to broadband was associated with an increase in new business activity and in the net creation of new businesses. We also find evidence that access to broadband was important in the creation of businesses in certain industries, especially those that benefited from the rise of the Internet. At the same time, this result may have crowded out business activity in the manufacturing industry. Our results also suggest that disruptive innovations (such as the internet) are important for small business creation and for regions that are still underserved by internet access, expanding such access may help generate business growth.

Research investigating the linkages between broadband and new business activity in countries around the world produce mixed results related to important nuances in this relationship pertaining to industry characteristics, geography, and the skill level of the workforce. Given these nuances, the goal of this study is to investigate the connection between broadband availability and new business activity, building on regional and rural-focused studies within the United States. Specifically, our paper conducts a nationwide assessment of the relationship between broadband and new business activity, in the early years of broadband in the late 1990s/early 2000s when it had the most potential to disrupt industries and open up new entrepreneurial opportunities. Using an instrumental variables approach based on the development of the Internet by the U.S. military, we estimate the impact of broadband availability on total and net new business creation. Results suggest that access to broadband was associated with an increase in new business activity and net creation of new businesses. We also find evidence that access to broadband was important in the creation of businesses in knowledge- oriented industries who benefited from the rise of the Internet. At the same time, we also find broadband may have crowded out business activity in the manufacturing industry. Combined, our results suggest disruptive innovations related to broadband Internet connections are important for small business creation in many, but not all industries. Given these linkages, expanding access to broadband may help generate new business activity and business growth.

Heterogeneity of inventiveness across urban, metro-adjacent rural and remote rural counties is analyzed using a spatial autoregressive negative binomial regression model, taking into account spatial spillover effects, the count nature of patenting, creative class population, industry characteristics and other regional factors influencing innovation creation. Results indicate that key drivers of invention-namely presence of universities, share of creative arts related occupations and professional services, access to cell phone services, the diversity of high industries, and share of foreign-born population-are common across county types. However, their marginal effects often vary by county type, e.g., diversity of high-tech industries and cell phone access have relatively higher marginal effects in metro-adjacent rural areas than urban counties. These innovation drivers also have statistically significant spatial spillover effects on patent output in neighboring counties. Urban inventive advantage persists even after controlling for variation in levels of key drivers of innovation. The estimated marginal and spillover effects in rural counties suggest that policies promoting technological diversity and communication infrastructure in rural counties can be effective in mitigating the urban-rural innovation gap.

To evaluate actions taken to implement the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the primary goal of which was to foster competition in the industry, the FCC created a standardized form (Form 477) to collect information about broadband deployment and competition in local telephone service. These data represent the best publicly available record of broadband provision in the United States. Despite the potential benefits offered by this database, there are several nuances to these data related to shifting geographies and reporting requirements that uncorrected, prevent them from being used as an uninterrupted time series for longitudinal analyses. Given the analytical challenges associated with the FCC Form 477 data, the purpose of this paper is to present a solution to the fragmented nature of these data which prevents meaningful longitudinal analyses of the digital divide. Specifically, this paper develops and describes a procedure for producing an integrated broadband time series (BITS) for the last decade (2008-2018). This includes the procedures for using these data, their value to social and economic analysis, and their underlying limitations. The core contribution of this paper is the creation of data infrastructure for investigating the evolution of the digital divide.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) typify the nexus of smart Internet-based technology and prior innovations in transportation. A challenge with AV research is that the technology is not yet readily available for consumers to experience. Thus, public perceptions of AVs are often assessed through survey research which has uncovered demographic and socio-economic differences in the willingness to adopt and pay for AVs. It has also provided information about the perceived benefits and risks associated with AVs and how these perceived benefits and risks affects support for self-driving car technology. More recently, studies have found that political ideology is linked to perceived concerns about self-driving cars but have not yet assessed whether this link extends to the intent to adopt AVs. Given this gap in our knowledge, the contributions of the present paper our twofold. One, we will assess whether political ideology impacts the intention to adopt AVs. Two, we will assess whether political ideology directly or indirectly affects the intention to adopt AVs. As regards the latter, we will conduct a mediation analysis with a path model to assess the extent that political ideology indirectly affects the intention to adopt via the perceived benefits and concerns survey respondents expressed about AVs. Our results reveal political ideology is an important predictor of individuals’ intent to adopt AVs, as characterized by both willingness to ride in and to own AVs. Specifically, compared to conservative participants, moderates and liberals reported higher AV adoption intentions. We also find that the effect of political ideology on AV adoption intention is mediated by participants’ perceived benefits and concerns about AVs. Compared to conservatives, political moderates reported AV adoption intention via higher perceived benefits about AVs. Compared to conservatives, liberals reported higher AV adoption intention through both higher perceived benefits and lower perceived concerns about AVs.

The study is motivated by the need to develop cost-effective tools to estimate the value and size of local food systems. Organizations in need of such evaluations often cannot afford the large price tag for the type of in-depth analysis they desire, and thus alternative, cost-effective methods are the next best choice. We use a recent evaluation of the Chicago foodshed to demonstrate one such cos-teffective tool. Expansion of local sales constitutes import substitution, where local foods supplant existing imports. The proposed input-output (I/O) modeling method combines a "follow the money" approach with one that isolates total contributions of the local food systems, and uses an alternative definition of local foods. The approach modifies the underlying IMPLAN data and uses secondary data to account for other changes. The method is applied to a multicounty region comprising four states; the method's limitations are also discussed.

Purpose The innovation creation literature primarily focuses on urban firms/regions or relies heavily on these data; less studied are rural firms and areas in this regard. The purpose of this paper is to employ a new firm-level data set, national in scale, and analyze characteristics that potentially influence innovation creation across rural and urban firms. Design/methodology/approach The authors use the 2014 National Survey of Business Competitiveness (NSBC) covering multiple firm-level variables related to innovation creation combined with secondary data reflecting the regional business and innovative environments where these firms operate. The number of patent applications filed by these firms measures their innovation creation, and the paper employs a negative binomial regression estimation for analysis. Findings After controlling for industry, county and state factors, rural and urban firms differ in their innovation creation characteristics and behaviors, suggesting that urban firms capitalize on their resources better than rural firms. Other major findings of the paper provide evidence that: first, for rural firms, the influence of university R&D is relevant to innovation creation, but their perception of university-provided information is not significant; and second, rural firms that are willing to try, but fail, in terms of innovation creation have a slight advantage over other rural firms less willing to take on the risk. Originality/value This paper is one of the first to analyze the 2014 NSBC, a firm-level national survey covering a wide range of innovation-related variables. The authors combine it with other regional secondary data, and use appropriate analytical modeling to provide empirical evidence of influencing factors on innovation creation across rural and urban firms.

Numerous interventions have been implemented at farmers markets across the United States in recent years in order to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) redemptions. These initiatives include ensuring that farmers markets have the technological capability of accepting SNAP and implementing financial incentive programs that provide matching benefits for the redemption of SNAP benefits. While a main objec­tive behind these initiatives is to increase revenue to direct marketing farmers, it is challenging to distinguish between the impacts of distinct inter­ventions. This shortcoming is a significant deter­rent in understanding how to effectively implement policies that enhance such objectives. We examine the impact of Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB), a prominent farmers market financial incentive pro­gram, on county-level direct-to-consumer (DTC) agricultural sales in Michigan. In our models, we distinguish between counties with farmers markets that do not accept SNAP, counties with markets that accept SNAP but not DUFB, and counties with markets that accept DUFB. We also estimate separate models that allow us to distinguish between the presence and magnitude of DUFB on county-level sales. We find that offering DUFB and accepting SNAP benefits were each associated with positive and statistically significant increases in direct marketing sales, and the magnitude of the DUFB coefficient was greater than the SNAP coefficient. Our preliminary evidence from coeffi­cient magnitudes also suggests that the county-level increase in direct sales exceeded the benefit levels.

Michigan is one Great Lakes state that does not have state-level mandate regarding winter manure application that goes beyond the directives of the EPA. Due to the recent toxic algal blooms, including the one that impacted residential water supplies in Toledo, Ohio, a number of environmental and civic groups have responded with increased calls to eliminate winter spreading of manure in Michigan. Policy makers in surrounding states have targeted winter manure applications, suggesting that Michigan policy makers do likewise. This paper presents findings of a survey of Michigan livestock producers on the management practices and capacities of manure management. The survey estimates the share of swine, beef cattle, and dairy producers without sufficient storage capacity should Michigan impose a ban on winter manure applications. Industry-wide capital costs were estimated for meeting such a restriction. The findings show that only 51 percent of operations with solid manure storage have sufficient capacity to meet 180 days of storage and only 37 percent for liquid storage. A sizable share indicated alternative strategies should restrictions be placed on winter applications, including reducing herd size, or shuttering operations. Responses differ by commodity. Assuming a 20-year life of capital investment, such a ban would likely result in an annualized cost of $30 million per year for Michigan‘s small livestock producers.