The access to broadband services as a strategy to retain population in the depopulated countryside in Spain

Merino, Fernando, Prats, María a. and Prieto-Sánchez, Carlos-Javier (2024) The access to broadband services as a strategy to retain population in the depopulated countryside in Spain. Cities, 144. ISSN 0264-2751

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze at what extent the connectivity of small localities is a determinant of their demography. Specifically, we pay attention to three factors: the evolution of the population; the distance, measured both in kilometres and travel time, to the province capital, the usual city where the largest set of services is available; and finally, the coverage of different kinds of broadband services (from ADSL or 3.5 G to the fastest ones FTTH) in rural areas. An econometric model was estimated where the dependent variable captures the increase of inhabitants along 2017–2020 of the 5955 Spanish municipalities with a population between 101 and 10,000 inhabitants (73.3 % of all municipalities). The results point out to the following facts: digital connectivity of small localities is a determinant of their demography, whatever the technology used, but physical distance remains being a significant factor on the population growth (both if it is measured of physical distance or travelling time) to explain the population growth of each locality.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/cities
Additional Information:	© 2023 The Authors
Divisions:	European Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
JEL classification:	J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J10 - General R - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics > R5 - Regional Government Analysis > R53 - Public Facility Location Analysis; Public Investment and Capital Stock
Date Deposited:	24 Nov 2023 16:57
Last Modified:	30 Apr 2024 05:33
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/120866

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