Digital infrastructure and territorial heterogeneity in quality-of-life outcomes

Digital infrastructure is widely recognized as a key driver of territorial development, yet its effects on multidimensional quality of life (QoL) remain insufficiently understood. This paper examines the impact of ultra-fast broadband expansion on QoL across Italian provinces over the period 2014–2022. Exploiting the gradual and policy-driven rollout of broadband infrastructure in rural “white areas”, we implement a continuous-treatment difference-in-differences framework with fixed effects. We analyze four core dimensions of QoL, income, education, environmental conditions, and health outcomes, and construct a composite index to assess aggregate effects. The results reveal heterogeneous and non-aligned impacts. Broadband expansion improves economic and educational outcomes, but is also associated with a deterioration in environmental conditions, while effects on health remain limited. As a result, the overall impact on Qol is weak or negative, reflecting trade-offs across dimensions. These findings suggest that digital infrastructure does not generate uniform improvements in QoL, but rather reshapes its internal composition. The paper contributes by providing causal evidence on the multidimensional and uneven effects of digitalization across territories.