Broadband and uneven spatial development: The case of Cardiff City-Region

an article by Calvin Jones and Dylan Henderson (Cardiff Business School, UK published in Local Economy: The Journal of the Local Economy Policy Unit Volume 34 Issue 3 (May 2019)

Abstract

The internet and e-connectivity more generally are increasingly held to be an important element of business success. Evidence however suggests that the productive impacts of such technologies are contingent on factors that include firm size and sector, and human capital.

It follows that if companies with these characteristics are unevenly distributed across space, the increasing importance of broadband in economic activity might impact unevenly on economic outcomes across space.

We examine the Cardiff City-Region in South Wales, where the distribution of businesses and skills suggests that without policy intervention the roll-out of broadband might further increase economic disparities between the relatively prosperous coastal belt and the poorer post-industrial hinterland.

---

Faster broadband: are there any educational benefits?

Governments around the world are committing substantial public funds to upgrading their broadband infrastructure, partly in the hope of promoting education. Research findings by Rosa Sanchis-Guarner and colleagues raise doubts about whether faster internet speeds will raise young people’s attainment at school.

Published in CentrePiece Autumn 2016

Access the full article (PDF 5pp)

This article summarises ICT and Education: Evidence from Student Home Addresses by Benjamin Faber, Rosa Sanchis-Guarner and Felix Weinhardt, CEP Discussion PaperNo. 1359

CEP alumnus Benjamin Faber is at the University of California, Berkeley
Rosa Sanchis-Guarner of Imperial College London and Felix Weinhardt of Humboldt University of Berlin are research associates in CEP’s urban programme

---