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according to local factors (Greenstein, Forman, and Goldfarb 2018). But little is known about the potential impact of DTs on regional poverty trends, particularly for developing countries. Most evidence on the territorial digital divide concentrates on developed economies. A study from the United States finds that broadband increased employment rates more in low-density rural areas than in urban ones (Kolko 2012). Conversely, Forman, Goldfarb, and Greenstein (2012) find that the internet exacerbates regional income inequality, based on data from US counties. As for developing countries, research from Brazil suggests that, while positive, the incidence of broadband on productivity is not uniform across regions, with evidence of regional convergence (Jung and López-Bazo 2020). Faster download speed and critical mass, which account for network externalities, it is argued, tend to enhance the economic impact of broadband. 20. This section draws from the background paper titled “Local Welfare Effects of Digital Technologies in Senegal” (Enamorado et al. 2020). 21. As in the previous analyses, 2G coverage maps are obtained from Collins Bartholomew, while African Bandwidth Maps is the source for maps of the fiber-optic networks. 22. The plan calls for the following: Ensuring that the commercial broadband market is open and structurally prepared for competitive private investment; providing public/donor funding support for larger, high-cost infrastructure investments to reduce risk and increase commercial viability; providing direct funding support for extending affordable broadband access to commercially challenging rural and remote areas, and to women and low-income users under a “Mobilizing Finance for Development” approach; reducing noneconomic costs and risks of market entry and investment; expanding the market through government procurement and implementation of broadband-based digital services, networks, and facilities; and ensuring that the technical skills needed to operate and maintain digital infrastructure are increasingly available in the region. For more, see Connecting Africa through Broadband: A Strategy for Doubling Connectivity by 2021 and Reaching Universal Access by 2030 (World Bank 2019a).
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