Does broadband internet allow cities to ‘borrow size’? Evidence from the Swedish labour market

Duco de Vos*, Urban Lindgren, Maarten van Ham, Evert Meijers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

17 Citations (Scopus)
73 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Borrowed size refers to the idea that small cities near larger metropolitan centres can reap the advantages of large agglomerations, but without the costs of agglomeration. The study explores whether broadband internet helps such smaller cities to enjoy the labour market benefits of a larger city. Using Swedish micro-data from 2007 to 2015, together with unique data on broadband, suggestive evidence is found that broadband indeed allows smaller cities to reap such benefits. Borrowed size is primarily driven by the overall penetration of broadband in the place of residence, rather than by broadband availability at the residence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1175-1186
Number of pages12
JournalRegional Studies
Volume54
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • agglomeration economies
  • borrowed size
  • broadband internet
  • commuting
  • commuting; employment
  • employment

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