The impact of broadband access and use continues to transform the socioeconomic landscape placing this twenty-first century infrastructure at the center of current policymaking discourse. Past studies have found a relationship between infrastructure investments and economic productivity. Recent broadband-related studies, however, have focused on general availability or adoption, and do not distinguish which specific aspect of the technology is most associated with productivity. Utilizing cross-sectional county-level data from 2017 and spatial econometric models, this research looked into better understanding the impact of multiple broadband indicators on job productivity, including innovative broader measures of digital inclusion. Results indicate that broader metrics focused on adoption or digital distress had a larger positive impact on job productivity in comparison to measures focused on speed or availability. Moreover, these impacts vary across urban and rural settings. Although the relationships identified are not necessarily causal, an alternative matching technique generally supports the results. These findings suggest that the relationship between broadband and economic productivity should be viewed from a larger, more comprehensive socioeconomic perspective. Future research should focus on looking at these effects over time and assess how policies focused on specific broadband characteristics have impacted growth.

宽带接入和使用的影响继续改变社会经济格局，使这一二十世纪的基础设施成为当前决策讨论的中心。过去的研究发现基础设施投资与经济生产力之间存在联系。但是，最近与宽带相关的研究集中在一般可用性或采用性上，并未区分该技术的哪个特定方面与生产力最相关。利用2017年的县级横断面数据和空间计量经济模型，本研究寻求更好地理解多个宽带指标对工作效率的影响，包括更广泛的数字包容性创新措施。结果表明，与侧重于速度或可用性的指标相比，侧重于采用或数字困扰的更广泛指标对工作效率具有更大的积极影响。此外，这些影响在城市和乡村环境中也各不相同。尽管确定的关系不一定是因果关系，但是替代的匹配技术通常支持结果。这些发现表明，应从更大，更全面的社会经济角度看待宽带与经济生产力之间的关系。未来的研究应着眼于长期观察这些影响，并评估针对特定宽带特性的政策如何影响增长。尽管确定的关系不一定是因果关系，但是替代的匹配技术通常支持结果。这些发现表明，应从更大，更全面的社会经济角度看待宽带与经济生产力之间的关系。未来的研究应着眼于随着时间的流逝而产生的影响，并评估针对特定宽带特性的政策如何影响增长。尽管确定的关系不一定是因果关系，但是替代的匹配技术通常支持结果。这些发现表明，应从更大，更全面的社会经济角度看待宽带与经济生产力之间的关系。未来的研究应着眼于长期观察这些影响，并评估针对特定宽带特性的政策如何影响增长。