Broadband in the Labor Market: The Impact of Residential High Speed Internet on Married Women's Labor Force Participation

Abstract

This paper investigates how high-speed home Internet has impacted married women's labor force participation. I estimate the net effect of individual Internet usage on labor supply using an instrumental variables strategy which exploits cross-state variation in supply-side constraints to residential broadband Internet access. Results indicate that married women who use the Internet are more likely to participate in the labor force. The average effects mask substantial heterogeneity and increases in participation are concentrated on women with higher levels of education and children. The results suggest home Internet facilitates work-family balance for highly educated women.

Keywords: Female labor supply, high speed internet, work and family, digital divide

JEL Classification: J22, J16, O33