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Dynamic Treatment Effect Analysis of TV Effects on Child Cognitive Development

Author

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  • Fali Huang

    () (School of Economics, Singapore Management University)

  • Myoung-jae Lee

    () (Department of Economics, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea)

Abstract

We investigate whether TV watching at ages 6-7 and 8-9 affects cognitive development measured by math and reading scores at ages 8-9 using a rich childhood longitudinal sample from NLSY79. Dynamic panel data models are estimated to handle the unobserved child-specific factor, endogeneity of TV watching, and dynamic nature of the causal relation. A special emphasis is put on the last aspect where TV watching affects cognitive development which in turn affects the future TV watching. When this feedback occurs, it is not straightforward to identify and estimate the TV effect. We adopt estimation methods available in the biostatistics literature which can deal with the feedback feature; we also apply the standard econometric panel data IV approaches. Overall, for math score at ages 8-9, we find that watching TV for more than two hours per day during ages 6-9 has a negative total effect mostly due to a large negative effect of TV watching at the younger ages 6-7. For reading score, there are evidences that TV watching between 2-4 hours per day has a positive effect whereas the effect is negative outside this range. In both cases, however, the effect magnitudes are economically small.
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Suggested Citation

  • Fali Huang & Myoung-jae Lee, 2009. "Dynamic Treatment Effect Analysis of TV Effects on Child Cognitive Development," Discussion Paper Series 0906, Institute of Economic Research, Korea University.
    • Handle: RePEc:iek:wpaper:0906
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    File URL: http://econ.korea.ac.kr/~ri/WorkingPapers/w0906.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Agne Suziedelyte, 2012. "Can video games affect children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills?," Discussion Papers 2012-37, School of Economics, The University of New South Wales.
    2. Ruben Durante & Paolo Pinotti & Andrea Tesei, 2015. "The Political Legacy of Entertainment TV," Sciences Po publications info:hdl:2441/gjf8d7tah8a, Sciences Po.
    3. Fali Huang & Myoung-jae Lee, 2009. "Does Television Viewing Affect Children'S Behaviour?," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(4), pages 474-501, October.
    4. DellaVigna, Stefano & La Ferrara, Eliana, 2015. "Economic and Social Impacts of the Media," CEPR Discussion Papers 10667, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    TV watching; treatment effect; panel data; dynamic model with feedback;

    JEL classification:

    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • E60 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - General

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