A Program Evaluation of State Based Grant Programs

Abstract

Thirty states maintain broadband grant and loan programs as of 2020, some of which date to the mid-aughts. Much like their federal counterparts, there is limited research detailing the impacts of state broadband subsidy programs. To help bridge this gap in the literature, this paper tackles two chronically understudied areas, both of which are relevant for state and federal policymakers. First, have state-based grant programs had an impact on broadband adoption in a region? And second, have these changes spurred an appreciable economic effect on recipient communities? To answer these questions, we create a novel dataset of the publicly available grant data from state programs and their support levels. This new dataset was then connected with Federal Communications Commission Form 477 data to test the impact of grants on broadband quality. Following this, the state grant broadband database was coupled with the American Community Survey to estimate the impact of these programs on the unemployment rate and labor force participation rate.