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Do children benefit from internet access? Experimental evidence from Peru

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  • Malamud, Ofer
  • Cueto, Santiago
  • Cristia, Julian
  • Beuermann, Diether W.

Abstract

This paper provides experimental evidence for the impact of home internet access on a broad range of child outcomes in Peru. We compare children who were randomly chosen to receive laptops with high-speed internet access to (i) those who did not receive laptops and (ii) those who only received laptops without internet. We find that providing free internet access led to improved computer and internet proficiency relative to those without laptops and improved internet proficiency compared to those with laptops only. However, there were no significant effects of internet access on math and reading achievement, cognitive skills, self-esteem, teacher perceptions, or school grades when compared to either group. We explore reasons for the absence of impacts on these key outcomes with survey questions, time-diaries, and computer logs.

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  • Malamud, Ofer & Cueto, Santiago & Cristia, Julian & Beuermann, Diether W., 2019. "Do children benefit from internet access? Experimental evidence from Peru," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 41-56.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:138:y:2019:i:c:p:41-56
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2018.11.005
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    5. Karthik Muralidharan & Abhijeet Singh & Alejandro J. Ganimian, 2019. "Disrupting Education? Experimental Evidence on Technology-Aided Instruction in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 109(4), pages 1426-1460, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yue Ma & Robert W. Fairlie & Prashant Loyalka & Scott Rozelle, 2020. "Isolating the "Tech" from EdTech: Experimental Evidence on Computer Assisted Learning in China," CESifo Working Paper Series 8186, CESifo.
    2. Henriksen, Alexandre Lauri & Zoghbi, Ana Carolina & Tannuri-Pianto, Maria & Terra, Rafael, 2022. "Education outcomes of broadband expansion in Brazilian municipalities," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    3. Díaz, Carlos & Dodel, Matías & Menese, Pablo, 2022. "Can one laptop per child reduce digital inequalities? ICT household access patterns under Plan Ceibal," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(9).
    4. Beam, Emily A. & Mukherjee, Priya & Navarro-Sola, Laia, 2022. "Lowering Barriers to Remote Education: Experimental Impacts on Parental Responses and Learning," IZA Discussion Papers 15596, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Hall, Caroline & Lundin, Martin, 2023. "Teaching, technology and test scores. The impact of personal computers on student performance in primary school," Working Paper Series 2023:3, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    6. Boeri, Filippo, 2023. "High-speed broadband, school closures and educational achievements," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 118120, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Rosa Sanchis-Guarner & José Montalbán & Felix Weinhardt, 2021. "Home Broadband and Human Capital Formation," Working Papers 923, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    8. 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.
    9. Derksen, Laura & Leclerc, Catherine Michaud & Souza, Pedro CL, 2019. "Searching for Answers: The Impact of Student Access to Wikipedia," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 450, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    10. Derksen, Laura & Michaud-Leclerc, Catherine & Souza, Pedro C.L., 2022. "Restricted access: How the internet can be used to promote reading and learning," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    11. Klaus Ackermann & Sefa Awaworyi Churchill & Russell Smyth, 2023. "Broadband Internet and Cognitive Functioning," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 99(327), pages 536-563, December.
    12. Carlo Cambini & Lorien Sabatino & Sarah Zaccagni, 2021. "The Faster the Better? The Effect of Ultra-Fast Broadband on Students’ Performance," CEBI working paper series 21-14, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. The Center for Economic Behavior and Inequality (CEBI).
    13. 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.
    14. Djinovic, Vladana & Giannakopoulos, Nicholas, 2022. "Home computer ownership and educational outcomes of adolescents in Greece," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1143, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    15. Derksen, Laura & Leclerc, Catherine Michaud & Souza, Pedro CL, 2019. "Searching for Answers : The Impact of Student Access to Wikipedia," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1236, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    16. Yanguas, Maria Lucia, 2020. "Technology and educational choices: Evidence from a one-laptop-per-child program," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    17. Gallego, Francisco A. & Malamud, Ofer & Pop-Eleches, Cristian, 2020. "Parental monitoring and children's internet use: The role of information, control, and cues," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    18. Ofer Malamud, 2019. "The Effect of Home Computers and the Internet on Children’s Human Capital Development," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(02), pages 34-40, August.
    19. Silva, Thiago Christiano & Coelho, Florângela Cunha & Ehrl, Philipp & Tabak, Benjamin Miranda, 2020. "Internet access in recessionary periods: The case of Brazil," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 537(C).
    20. Marta Golin, 2022. "The effect of broadband Internet on the gender gap in mental health: Evidence from Germany," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(S2), pages 6-21, October.
    21. Fabiano Scriptore de Carvalho & Luiz Alberto Pilatti & Hilda Alberton de Carvalho & Isaura Alberton de Lima, 2023. "Information and Communication Technology in Brazilian Public Schools: A Sustainable Legacy of the Pandemic?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, April.
    22. Xavier Oriol & Jorge Varela & Rafael Miranda, 2021. "Gratitude as a Protective Factor for Cyberbullying Victims: Conditional Effects on School and Life Satisfaction," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-15, March.
    23. Golin, Marta & Romarri, Alessio, 2022. "Broadband Internet and Attitudes Towards Migrants: Evidence from Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 15804, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    24. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Internet access; Education; Academic achievement; Digital skills; Cognitive skills; Technology; Experimental;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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