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Lightning, IT diffusion and economic growth across US states

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  • Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck

    (Department of Business and Economics)

  • Bentzen, Jeanet

    (Department of Economics)

  • Dalgaard, Carl-Johan

    (Department of Economics)

  • Selaya, Pablo

    (Department of Economics)

Abstract

Empirically, a higher frequency of lightning strikes is associated with slower growth in labor productivity across the 48 contiguous US states after 1990; before 1990 there is no correlation between growth and lightning. Other climate variables (e.g., temperature, rainfall and tornadoes) do not conform to this pattern. A viable explanation is that lightning influences IT diffusion. By causing voltage spikes and dips, a higher frequency of ground strikes leads to damaged digital equipment and thus higher IT user costs. Accordingly, the flash density (strikes per square km per year) should adversely affect the speed of IT diffusion. We find that lightning indeed seems to have slowed IT diffusion, conditional on standard controls. Hence, an increasing macroeconomic sensitivity to lightning may be due to the increasing importance of digital technologies for the growth process.

Suggested Citation

  • Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck & Bentzen, Jeanet & Dalgaard, Carl-Johan & Selaya, Pablo, 2011. "Lightning, IT diffusion and economic growth across US states," Discussion Papers on Economics 2/2011, University of Southern Denmark, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:sdueko:2011_002
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    Cited by:

    1. Areendam Chanda & Bibhudutta Panda, 2012. "Unbalanced Productivity Growth in US States: Evidence from Factor Prices," Departmental Working Papers 2012-04, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    2. Marco Manacorda & Andrea Tesei, 2020. "Liberation Technology: Mobile Phones and Political Mobilization in Africa," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 88(2), pages 533-567, March.
    3. Iacovone, Leonardo & Pereira-López, Mariana & Schiffbauer, Marc, 2023. "Competition makes IT better: Evidence on when firms use IT more effectively," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).
    4. Caldarola, Bernardo & Grazzi, Marco & Occelli, Martina & Sanfilippo, Marco, 2023. "Mobile internet, skills and structural transformation in Rwanda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(10).
    5. Mathilde Maurel & Charlemagne Nikiema, 2016. "Media and Political Participation in North Africa," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01396055, HAL.
    6. Bernardo Caldarola & Luca Fontanelli, 2024. "Cloud technologies, firm growth and industry concentration: Evidence from France," LEM Papers Series 2024/25, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    7. Bibhudutta Panda, 2017. "Schooling and productivity growth: evidence from a dual growth accounting application to U.S. states," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 48(2), pages 193-221, December.
    8. Do, Quy-Toan & Gomez-Parra, Nicolas & Rijkers, Bob, 2023. "Transnational terrorism and the internet," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    9. Boerner, Lars & Severgnini, Battista, 2015. "Time for growth," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 64495, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Alessandro Gavazza & Mattia Nardotto & Tommaso Valletti, 2019. "Internet and Politics: Evidence from U.K. Local Elections and Local Government Policies," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(5), pages 2092-2135.
    11. Rezki, Jahen F., 2023. "Does the mobile phone affect social development? Evidence from Indonesian villages," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    12. Kathrin Wernsdorf & Markus Nagler & Martin Watzinger, 2020. "ICT, Collaboration, and Science-Based Innovation: Evidence from BITNET," CESifo Working Paper Series 8646, CESifo.
    13. Areendam Chanda & Bibhudutta Panda, 2011. "Productivity Growth in Goods and Services across US States: What can We Learn from Factor Prices?," Departmental Working Papers 2011-16, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    14. Wernsdorf, Kathrin & Nagler, Markus & Watzinger, Martin, 2022. "ICT, collaboration, and innovation: Evidence from BITNET," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    15. Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck & Dalgaard, Carl-Johan, 2013. "Power outages and economic growth in Africa," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 19-23.
    16. Enrico Nano, 2022. "Electrifying Nigeria: the Impact of Rural Access to Electricity on Kids' Schooling," IHEID Working Papers 03-2022, Economics Section, The Graduate Institute of International Studies.
    17. Mensah, Justice Tei, 2024. "Jobs! Electricity shortages and unemployment in Africa," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    18. Riccardo Ciacci & Jorge García-Hombrados & Ayesha Zainudeen, 2020. "Mobile phone network and migration: evidence from Myanmar," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-016, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    19. Flückiger, Matthias & Ludwig, Markus, 2023. "Mobile phone coverage and infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 462-485.
    20. Rezki, Jahen Fachrul, 2018. "Call Your Leader: Does the Mobile Phone Affect Policymaking?," SocArXiv 3s784, Center for Open Science.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Climate; IT diffusion; economic growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
    • O51 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - U.S.; Canada
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

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