Residential Broadband Deployment and Regional Employment: Evidence From China

The Information Communication Technology plays an irreplaceable role in all aspects of human life and social production as a general purpose technology. High-speed broadband network has become the focus in recent years, with the continuous development of ICT. Existing literature mainly studies its economic impact in developed countries. The practice of broadband in developing countries has been overlooked. This paper fills the gap by exploiting a broadband development program in China. The difference-in-differences estimates show that the deployment of high quality broadband promotes regional employment, especially employment in skilled service sector. The positive effect is larger in cities with better developed tertiary industry and more educated residents. We also find broadband development stimulates innovation. These findings imply that broadband promotes the upgrading of China’s industrial structure and brings new impetus to its economic transition by shifting labor force from the secondary to tertiary industry.