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Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health

Author

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  • Abrahamsson, Sara

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

How smartphone usage affects well-being and learning among children and adolescents is a concern for schools, parents, and policymakers. Combining detailed administrative data with survey data on middle schools’ smartphone policies, together with an event-study design, I show that banning smartphones significantly decreases the health care take-up for psychological symptoms and diseases among girls. Post-ban bullying among both genders decreases. Additionally, girls’ GPA improves, and their likelihood of attending an academic high school track increases. These effects are larger for girls from low socio-economic backgrounds. Hence, banning smartphones from school could be a low-cost policy tool to improve student outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Abrahamsson, Sara, 2024. "Smartphone Bans, Student Outcomes and Mental Health," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 1/2024, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2024_001
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    File URL: https://openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/handle/11250/3119200
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    Cited by:

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    3. Pham, Thi Trang & Wong, Pui Hang, 2025. "Internet Access and Youth’s Mental Health and Well-being," MERIT Working Papers 2025-007, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    4. Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa & Montalbán, José & Weinhardt, Felix, 2025. "Home broadband and human capital formation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • 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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