Valentin Lindlacher

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

with Moritz Goldbeck
latest version here
job market paper
runner-up for the Distinguished CESifo Affiliate Award at the CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Digitization 2022

We investigate the impact of low-speed internet availability 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 connection, and use the rollout of national fiber cables to identify incidentally connected towns with early internet access. We find that internet availability increases nighttime light intensity by 10 percent. We consider increased employment, particularly in low-skilled jobs and for women, as the main explanation. Our findings highlight the importance of closing the digital divide for remote towns.

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

The Impact of China’s “Stadium Diplomacy” on Local Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

with Gustav Pirich (R&R at World Development)
CESifo Working Paper



This study investigates the economic impact of China’s “stadium diplomacy” in Sub-Saharan Africa. Exploiting the staggered timing of the construction in a difference-in-differences framework, we analyze the effect of Chinese-built and financed stadiums on local economic development. Employing nighttime light satellite data, we provide both an aggregate and spatially disaggregated assessment of these investments. We find that a stadium's city nighttime light intensity increases by about 24 percent, on average, after stadium completion. The effects can be attributed to the stadiums but are not only visible close to the stadium's location. Estimates on nighttime light activity are mirrored by individual-level employment effects in the stadiums’ surrounding area. For stadiums not built or financed by China, we cannot find similar effects. Our results contrast with the widely held notion that China’s development finance projects constitute “white elephants”.



Keywords: Stadium diplomacy; Regional development; Nighttime light; Local public infrastructure; Sub-Saharan Africa
JEL-Codes: O18, R11, O55, R53, Z20

Leapfrogging Telecommunication: Did the Roll-Out of Mobile Coverage Structurally Change Labor Markets?

with Marta Bernardi

Keywords: Mobile coverage, Structural transformation, Technological development
JEL-Codes: O33, O12, O14




Should I Mail or Should I Go: Insights From a One-Time All-Postal Election

with Marius Kröper

Keywords: Mail-in voting, Voter turnout, Local elections, Habit formation, COVID-19 pandemic, Bavaria
JEL-Codes: D72, H11, H70, R50




Training, Automation, and Wages: Individual-Level Evidence from PIAAC

with Oliver Falck, Yuchen Guo, Christina Langer, and Simon Wiederhold

Keywords: Job training, Human capital, Digital skills, Entropy balancing
JEL-Codes: J24, J31, J61, O33




Commuting and Subjective Well-Being in Times of Mobile Network Rollout

with Katharina Bettig

Keywords: Commuting, Well-being, Internet availability, Life satisfaction, Marginal effect
JEL-Codes: D1, I31, R41