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High-Speed Broadband and Academic Achievement in Teenagers: Evidence from Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Grenestam, Erik

    (Department of Economics, Lund University)

  • Nordin, Martin

    (AgriFood Economics Centre, Lund University)

Abstract

This study examines the effects of super-fast internet connections on the academic achievement of students in upper secondary school. We link detailed register data on around 250,000 students to local levels of access to optic fiber broadband and estimate the effect of broadband on student GPA. We show that reaching full coverage in the student’s parish of residence causes a GPA reduction ranging from 3 to 6 percent of a standard deviation. Estimates are consistently more negative for boys and students with low ability and/or low-educated parents. Using PISA survey data, we provide evidence that students living in areas with faster broadband expansion also saw a greater increase in the number of hours spent online during weekdays, suggesting student time use as a mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Grenestam, Erik & Nordin, Martin, 2017. "High-Speed Broadband and Academic Achievement in Teenagers: Evidence from Sweden," Working Papers 2017:17, Lund University, Department of Economics, revised 23 Apr 2018.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2017_017
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    File URL: http://project.nek.lu.se/publications/workpap/papers/wp17_17.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Björklund, Anders & Salvanes, Kjell G., 2011. "Education and Family Background: Mechanisms and Policies," Handbook of the Economics of Education, in: Erik Hanushek & Stephen Machin & Ludger Woessmann (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 3, pages 201-247, Elsevier.
    2. Sandra E. Black & Paul J. Devereux & Kjell G. Salvanes, 2005. "The More the Merrier? The Effect of Family Size and Birth Order on Children's Education," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(2), pages 669-700.
    3. Nicole M. Fortin & Philip Oreopoulos & Shelley Phipps, 2015. "Leaving Boys Behind: Gender Disparities in High Academic Achievement," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 50(3), pages 549-579.
    4. Jacob L. Vigdor & Helen F. Ladd & Erika Martinez, 2014. "Scaling The Digital Divide: Home Computer Technology And Student Achievement," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(3), pages 1103-1119, July.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Education; Broadband; Internet; High-school; GPA;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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