The Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) Impact on New Construction​

This study examines how the Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) has affected new construction in rural areas. To estimate the number of new constructions, we analyze property sales data from Corelogic at the census tract level. By comparing the amount of new construction in tracts within the project area to those outside the area (within a 25-mile buffer zone), we evaluate the impact of BIP. We match tracts inside and outside the project area based on similar characteristics. Our analysis uses a combination of difference-in-differences, zero-inflated Poisson, and Hurdle models. Surprisingly, our findings reveal a notable decrease in the volume of new property sales in the BIP project area, which is contrary to what we expected.​

SIWE G, Goldstein J, Kattampallil N, Zhu Z, Wang X, Pender J. (2024). The Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) Impact on New Construction. Social and Decision Analytics Division, Biocomplexity Institute, University of Virginia. https://doi.org/10.18130/gznb-0v71