Déploiement du très haut débit et création d’entreprises dans les zones rurales : une évaluation du programme Auvergne Très Haut Débit

Abstract

Depuis près de 15 ans, les pouvoirs publics déploient internet dans les territoires ruraux qui, faute de rentabilité, sont délaissés par les opérateurs privés. Ces investissements publics sont motivés par une volonté d’assurer l’équité territoriale mais aussi de stimuler l’attractivité économique de ces territoires. Afin d’analyser l’efficacité de ces politiques sur ce deuxième objectif, ce travail évalue l’impact des premières années du programme « Auvergne Très Haut Débit » sur la création d’entreprises dans les territoires peu denses. Nos estimations (en double différence avec appariement préalable) indiquent que le déploiement du très haut débit a stimulé la création d’entreprises dans trois groupes de secteurs : la restauration et l’hébergement ; l’administration publique, l’enseignement, la santé humaine et l’action sociale ; et les autres activités de services. Des effets négatifs ont en revanche été identifiés dans le secteur de l’immobilier. Ces effets sont à l’œuvre dans les communes bien dotées en aménités naturelles ou ayant bénéficié d’un déploiement significatif du très haut débit.

The Rural Digital Divide in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe—Recommendations from a Scoping Review

“…In contrast to the findings described, the evaluation work of Duvivier et al [51] of the Auvergne très haut débit programme in France concludes that the deployment of fiber and high speed has not significantly stimulated the creation of enterprises, having affected positively only to the creation of companies in specific sectors: hostelry; public administration, education, health and social work; and other activities in the services sector. While the deployment of fiber and high speed does not appear to be sufficient on its own to drive rural economic development, it may be a lever for development when certain conditions, related to the territorial economic context and design of digital policy, are met [51]. From the opposite perspective, the existence of faster internet technologies can even increase the urban-rural digital divide, as they are more expensive and difficult to obtain in rural areas [52].…”

Broadband and Firm Location: Some answers to relevant policy and research issues using meta-analysis

“…Several works have concluded that broadband has a positive effect on firm location decisions (Kim & Orazem, 2017) and that limited connectivity strongly hurts rural businesses (Whitacre & al., 2014-b), particularly in the creative sector (Townsend & al., 2017). A majority of studies, however, find very limited (Duvivier & al., 2018;Kandilov & Renkow, 2010) or insignificant effects on firm location (Canzian & al., 2019;Mack & Wentz, 2017;Whitacre & al., 2014-a). Conley & Whitacre (2016) even show that nonmetropolitan counties with the largest increases in broadband experience the strongest drop in entrepreneurship and the number of creative workers because broadband allows individuals to be better aware of alternative job opportunities in neighboring metropolitan areas.…”

“…In almost all cases, previous studies have concluded that broadband impact is significantly heterogeneous across industries. Overall, positive effects are generally found in a large range of services (Audretsch & al., 2015;Duvivier & al., 2018;Gurney, 2012;Hasbi, 2017;Shideler & Badasyan, 2012). While some concerns have been raised about broadband impact on the retail trade sector (with local businesses potentially negatively affected by heightened competition with online retailers), most studies also find positive effects on the number of retail establishments.…”

“…While some concerns have been raised about broadband impact on the retail trade sector (with local businesses potentially negatively affected by heightened competition with online retailers), most studies also find positive effects on the number of retail establishments. Similarly, while it is a common belief that broadband deployment often comes with a closure of local public services, most studies point to a positive relationship between broadband access and firm location in public administration, education and health services (Duvivier & al., 2018;Kandilov & Renkow, 2010;Kim & Orazem, 2017). A number of studies have also specifically focused on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), which are expected to be particularly sensitive to broadband provision given that they are both technology-intensive and footloose.…”

“…Finally, the least positive results are found for finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE). Although some studies find positive effects (Gurney, 2012;Parajuli & Haynes, 2015), others conclude that broadband access significantly reduces the number of firms in the FIRE sector (Duvivier & al., 2018;Kandilov & Renkow, 2010;Shideler & Badasyan, 2012). These detrimental effects would result from the fact that, with the development of online agencies, firms are able to reach distant customers, leading to the closure of small and unprofitable agencies, especially in rural areas.…”