Market Access and Information Technology Adoption: Historical Evidence from the Telephone in Bavaria

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: University of Adelaide
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S002205072200050X
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 275-308
• 关键词: communication; EFFICIENCY; diffusion; telegraph; frictions; BUSINESS; TRADE

摘要

Does market access affect information technology by shaping its diffusion and adoption? The introduction of the telephone in Bavaria is used to demonstrate that local and external market access affected both. External connections shortened the diffusion time of exchanges by 3 percent on average, while 4 percent of lines were due to such inter-city communication links. However, relatively stronger local effects from population size and demand for communication services, especially in larger cities, imply that initially, the telephone was primarily a local urban amenity that also became an external communication link when it rolled out to more rural places over time.