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Are Computers Good for Children? The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes

Author

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  • Daniel O. Beltran
  • Kuntal K. Das
  • Robert W. Fairlie

Abstract

Although computers are universal in the classroom, nearly twenty million children in the United States do not have computers in their homes. Surprisingly, only a few previous studies explore the role of home computers in the educational process. Home computers might be very useful for completing school assignments, but they might also represent a distraction for teenagers. We use several identification strategies and panel data from the two main U.S. datasets that include recent information on computer ownership among children -- the 2000-2003 CPS Computer and Internet Use Supplements (CIUS) matched to the CPS Basic Monthly Files and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 -- to explore the causal relationship between computer ownership and high school graduation and other educational outcomes. Teenagers who have access to home computers are 6 to 8 percentage points more likely to graduate from high school than teenagers who do not have home computers after controlling for individual, parental, and family characteristics. We generally find evidence of positive relationships between home computers and educational outcomes using several identification strategies, including controlling for typically unobservable home environment and extracurricular activities in the NLSY97, fixed effects models, instrumental variables, and including future computer ownership and falsification tests. Home computers may increase high school graduation by reducing non-productive activities, such as truancy and crime, among children in addition to making it easier to complete school assignments.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniel O. Beltran & Kuntal K. Das & Robert W. Fairlie, 2008. "Are Computers Good for Children? The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes," CEPR Discussion Papers 576, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:auu:dpaper:576
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    File URL: https://www.cbe.anu.edu.au/researchpapers/CEPR/DP576.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard B. Freeman, 2002. "The Labour Market in the New Information Economy," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 18(3), pages 288-305.
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    4. Schmitt, John & Wadsworth, Jonathan, 2006. "Is there an impact of household computer ownership on children's educational attainment in Britain?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 659-673, December.
    5. Fairlie, Robert W., 2005. "The effects of home computers on school enrollment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 24(5), pages 533-547, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Djinovic, Vladana & Giannakopoulos, Nicholas, 2022. "Home computer ownership and educational outcomes of adolescents in Greece," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1143, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Fiorini, M., 2010. "The effect of home computer use on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(1), pages 55-72, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    technology; computers; education;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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