Since its introduction in the late 1990’s, broadband internet has significantly impacted the way societies and economies function. Literature suggests that there is a positive relationship between broadband penetration rates and economic growth rates. Because broadband achieves faster speeds that non-broadband connections, these findings indicate a possible link between broadband speeds and general well-being. Using panel data from 50 US states and the District of Columbia, we estimate the association between broadband speeds and US state level GDP growth. We find that broadband speeds have a positive and significant effect on GDP growth rates for the US from 2009-2011. Considering the controversy surrounding the change to Federal Communications Commission’s net neutrality and internet speed regulation policy in February 2015, these results are particularly relevant.
This thesis proves that the yield spread, between the 10-year Treasury Bond and the 3-month Treasury Bill (“my spread”) is able to explain roughly 5% of the variation in real, quarterly GDP growth rates, four-quarters in the future. It also demonstrates that a yield spread of this maturity-combination is marginally more predictive than the other, commonly used spread, between the 10-year Treasury Bond and the 1-year Treasury Bond.
