Valentin Lindlacher

Assistant Professor in Economics at TU Dresden

Working papers

Digital Infrastructure and Local Economic Development: Early Internet in Sub-Saharan Africa

with Moritz Goldbeck
R&R at Journal of the European Economic Association
latest version here
CESifo Working Paper
job market paper
runner-up for the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award at the CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Digitization 2022

Abstract

We investigate the impact of early internet availability at basic speeds on local economic development in remote areas of developing countries by analyzing nighttime light emissions across towns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we exploit submarine cable arrivals, which established countrywide internet connections, and the rollout of the national backbones, which defines internet access within countries. Estimating on incidentally connected mid-sized towns, we find that early internet availability increases nighttime light intensity by 10 percent. We consider increased employment as the main explanation. Our findings highlight the importance of closing the digital divide for regional development.

Keywords: Internet; Regional development; Towns; Nighttime light; Sub-Saharan Africa
JEL-Codes: L86, O18, O33, R11

Should I Mail or Should I Go: Voting Behavior After a One-Time All-Postal Election

Marius Kröper

submitted

here

CESifo Working Paper

Abstract

We investigate how reducing information costs through forced experimentation with postal voting, while holding administrative rules fixed, affects subsequent voting behavior. Leveraging a natural experiment during Bavaria’s 2020 Mayoral Elections and drawing on municipality-level administrative data spanning seven federal and state elections (2013-2025), we employ an event study design. We find a transitory increase in total turnout of 0.4 percentage points in the first election after the treatment, one and a half years later, and a persistent substitution from in-person to postal voting even five years after the treatment. Municipalities with a higher turnout in the past show larger effects. Investigating the distribution of information costs shows an age gradient, with the highest information costs in the oldest municipalities. The conservative governing party gains from higher postal turnout and other right-wing parties’ in-person voters.

Keywords

JEL-Codes

Involuntary Changes in Commuting Distances: Effects on Subjective Well-Being in the Era of Mobile Internet

Katharina Bettig

submitted

here

CESifo Working Paper

Abstract

Commuting is a fundamental aspect of employees’ daily routines, yet its effects on subjective well-being are insufficiently investigated in the context of evolving digital connectivity. This paper investigates the causal effects of changes in commuting distance on subjective well-being in an era of widespread mobile internet access. Exploiting exogenous shifts in commuting distance resulting from employer-driven workplace relocations, we employ a Difference-in-Differences framework using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) from 2010 to 2019. Our results show that an involuntary increase in commuting distance significantly reduces life satisfaction by 3 percent, on average, and heightens feelings of worry by almost 8 percent, on average, with adaptation occurring only partially over time. Investigating the role of increased mobile coverage during commutes, we find that it, at least partially, mitigates declines in life satisfaction, whereas it intensifies the negative impact on satisfaction with leisure.

Keywords

JEL-Codes