University of Toronto Mississauga, Rotman School of Management, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Health Econ. 2022 Dec;31(12):2648-2663. doi: 10.1002/hec.4601. Epub 2022 Sep 11.
This paper evaluates whether a policy of providing free, in-home Internet for lower-income households can reduce COVID-19 case rates among those households. Using data from a pilot program in Toronto, we find that deploying free public WiFi in large apartment blocks within a low-income neighborhood leads to a 14.4% reduction in weekly cases in that neighborhood. Having in-home WiFi reduces the propensity of residents to visit businesses in the arts, entertainment, and recreation category, suggesting that WiFi benefits residents by providing in-home substitutes for leisure activities.
本文评估了为低收入家庭提供免费家庭互联网服务的政策是否可以降低这些家庭的 COVID-19 病例数。利用多伦多试点项目的数据，我们发现，在低收入社区的大型公寓楼内部署免费公共 WiFi 可使该社区的每周病例数减少 14.4%。拥有家庭 WiFi 可降低居民访问艺术、娱乐和休闲类别的商业活动的倾向，表明 WiFi 通过为居民提供家庭休闲活动替代方式使居民受益。
