速度需求：哥伦比亚的互联网接入与女性就业

摘要

Modern information and communication technologies have opened new possibilities in the way people live and work. This study examines the impact of Colombia’s 2019 mandate that increased residential download speeds on the likelihood of employment among prime-working-age women. Using nationally representative data from 2012 to 2024, we employ an event-study design and complementary treatment-effect estimators under unconfoundedness. Our results indicate that women living in regions exposed to the largest improvements in residential internet speed are more likely to work, with effects persisting throughout the post-reform period, including pandemic and post-pandemic years. We also provide suggestive evidence that improvements in internet quality are associated with lower housework participation and greater use of online banking, online purchasing, online job search and online sales. While these mechanisms do not establish a definitive behavioural pathway, they are consistent with the view that higher-quality internet may reduce household-management costs and facilitate women’s labour market participation.