Need for speed: Fiber and student achievement

This paper studies the impact of the introduction of fiber broadband in North Carolina, through the lens of student achievement. Campbell links granular data on new fiber construction and advertised download speeds with administrative test score data and local labor market data. Exploiting variation in fiber availability at the census block group level, Campbell implements a difference-in-differences design and find modest effects on educational outcomes, roughly equivalent to lowering class sizes by one student. Campbell shows fiber increases local employment and search intensity for supplementary educational materials. Last, Campbell shows that increased competition from fiber providers drives quality improvements in other available technology.

[This paper won a 2022 TPRC Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award]