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The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Community College Students

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  • Robert W. Fairlie
  • Rebecca A. London

Abstract

There is no clear theoretical prediction regarding whether home computers are an important input in the educational production function. To investigate the hypothesis that access to a home computer affects educational outcomes, we conduct the first-ever field experiment involving the provision of free computers to students for home use. Financial aid students attending a large community college in Northern California were randomly selected to receive free computers and were followed for two years. Although estimates for a few measures are imprecise and cannot rule out zero effects, we find some evidence that the treatment group achieved better educational outcomes than the control group. The estimated effects, however, are not large. We also provide some evidence that students initially living farther from campus benefit more from the free computers than students living closer to campus. Home computers appear to improve students’ computer skills and may increase the use of computers at non-traditional times. The estimated effects of home computers on educational outcomes from the experiment are smaller than the positive estimates reported in previous studies. Using matched CPS data, we find estimates of educational effects that are considerably larger than the experimental estimates.
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Suggested Citation

  • Robert W. Fairlie & Rebecca A. London, 2012. "The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from a Field Experiment with Community College Students," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 122(561), pages 727-753, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecj:econjl:v:122:y:2012:i:561:p:727-753
    DOI: j.1468-0297.2011.02484.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Julian Cristia & Pablo Ibarrarán & Santiago Cueto & Ana Santiago & Eugenio Severín, 2017. "Technology and Child Development: Evidence from the One Laptop per Child Program," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 295-320, July.
    2. Ásgeirsdottir, Tinna Laufey & Francesconi, Marco & Johannsdottir, Ásthildur M. & Zoega, Gylfi, 2025. "How Home Exams and Peers Affect College Grades in Unprecedented Times," IZA Discussion Papers 18344, IZA Network @ LISER.
    3. Benjamin Faber & Rosa Sanchis-Guarner & Felix Weinhardt, 2015. "ICT and Education: Evidence from Student Home Addresses," SERC Discussion Papers 0186, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    4. Oliver Falck & Constantin Mang & Ludger Woessmann, 2018. "Virtually No Effect? Different Uses of Classroom Computers and their Effect on Student Achievement," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 80(1), pages 1-38, February.
    5. Laura Pagani & Gianluca Argentin & Marco Gui & Luca Stanca, 2015. "The Impact of Digital Skills on Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Performance Tests," Working Papers 304, University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Economics, revised Jul 2015.
    6. Peters, Jörg & Langbein, Jörg & Roberts, Gareth, 2016. "Policy evaluation, randomized controlled trials, and external validity—A systematic review," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 51-54.
    7. Ma, Yue & Fairlie, Robert & Loyalka, Prashant & Rozelle, Scott, 2024. "Isolating the “Tech” from EdTech: Experimental Evidence on Computer-Assisted Learning in China," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt99m4r92g, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    8. Vladana Djinovic & Nicholas Giannakopoulos, 2024. "Home computer ownership and educational outcomes of adolescents in Greece," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(4), pages 523-537, July.
    9. Yanguas, Maria Lucia, 2020. "Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Fairlie, Robert, 2015. "Technology and Education: Computers, Software, and the Internet," Santa Cruz Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt28k4f4v1, Department of Economics, UC Santa Cruz.
    11. Prashant Poddar & Valentina Rotondi & Ridhi Kashyap, 2025. "Access to technology and foundational math proficiency among students: empirical evidence from India," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    12. Patterson, Richard W. & Patterson, Robert M., 2017. "Computers and productivity: Evidence from laptop use in the college classroom," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 66-79.
    13. Campbell, Richard Cole, 2024. "Need for speed: Fiber and student achievement," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(6).
    14. Daniele Checchi & Enrico Rettore & Silvia Girardi, 2019. "IC technology and learning: an impact evaluation of Cl@ssi 2.0," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 241-264, May.
    15. Fairlie, Robert W. & Bahr, Peter Riley, 2018. "The effects of computers and acquired skills on earnings, employment and college enrollment: Evidence from a field experiment and California UI earnings records," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 51-63.
    16. Fairlie, Robert W., 2012. "Academic achievement, technology and race: Experimental evidence," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 663-679.
    17. Robert W. Fairlie & Jonathan Robinson, 2013. "Experimental Evidence on the Effects of Home Computers on Academic Achievement among Schoolchildren," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 211-240, July.
    18. Denis Fougère & Ghazala Azmat & Alexis Lermite & Clémence Lobut, 2022. "L’impact du numérique sur les apprentissages des élèves : évaluation d’une politique d’équipement à grande échelle. Ensemble des résultats au cycle 4," Working Papers halshs-03915750, HAL.
    19. Likun Mao & Sarah Grace See, 2025. "Early Exposure, ICT Use, and Teenage Well being Outcomes," CHILD Working Papers Series 121 JEL Classification: I, Centre for Household, Income, Labour and Demographic Economics (CHILD) - CCA.
    20. Robert W. Fairlie & Samantha H. Grunberg, 2014. "Access To Technology And The Transfer Function Of Community Colleges: Evidence From A Field Experiment," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(3), pages 1040-1059, July.
    21. Fairlie, Robert W., 2012. "The effects of home access to technology on computer skills: Evidence from a field experiment," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 24(3), pages 243-253.
    22. Luca Bonacini & Marina Murat, 2023. "Beyond the Covid-19 pandemic: remote learning and education inequalities," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 50(1), pages 207-236, February.
    23. Nadine Fabritz, 2015. "Investment in ICT: Determinants and Economic Implications," ifo Beiträge zur Wirtschaftsforschung, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 60, April.
    24. Eric Bettinger & Robert Fairlie & Anastasia Kapuza & Elena Kardanova & Prashant Loyalka & Andrey Zakharov, 2023. "Diminishing Marginal Returns to Computer‐Assisted Learning," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(2), pages 552-570, March.
    25. Algan, Yann & Fortin, Nicole M., 2016. "Computer Gaming and Test Scores: Cross-Country Gender Differences among Teenagers," IZA Discussion Papers 10433, IZA Network @ LISER.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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