Working Paper: NBER ID: w31579
Authors: Jessica Van Parys; Zach Y. Brown
Abstract: High-speed internet has increased the amount of information available in health care markets. Online information may improve health outcomes if it reduces information frictions and helps patients choose higher quality providers or causes providers to improve quality. We examine how health outcomes for common procedures in Medicare changed after broadband internet rolled out across ZIP Codes from 1999 to 2008. Estimates imply that broadband expansion improved health outcomes by 5%. Broadband access primarily helped patients choose higher-quality providers; we also find some evidence that broadband improved provider quality. We use a structural model to decompose the improvements in patient outcomes over time. Counterfactual simulations imply that broadband roll-out was responsible for 16% of the improvement in outcomes by the end of the period.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: I10; L15; L86
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| broadband expansion (L96) | health outcomes (I14) |
| broadband expansion (L96) | choice of higher-quality providers (I11) |
| no broadband access (L96) | readmission probability (C29) |
| broadband availability (L96) | patient demand for higher-quality providers (I11) |
| broadband expansion (L96) | hospital quality improvements (I19) |
| broadband expansion (L96) | improvement in health outcomes (I14) |