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Books or Laptops? The Cost-Effectiveness of Shifting from Printed to Digital Delivery of Educational Content

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Listed:
  • Rosangela Bando
  • Francisco Gallego
  • Paul Gertler
  • Dario Romero Fonseca

Abstract

Information and communication technologies, such as laptops, can be used for educational purposes as they provide users with computational tools, information storage and communication opportunities, but these devices may also pose as distractors that tamper with the learning process. This paper presents results from a randomized controlled trial in which laptops replaced traditional textbook provision in elementary schools in high poverty communities in Honduras in 2013 through the program Educatracho. We show that at the end of one school year, the substitution of laptops for textbooks did not make a significant difference in student learning. We additionally conducted a cost-effectiveness analysis, which demonstrated that given the low marginal costs of digital textbook provision, the substitution of three additional textbooks in the program (for a total of five) would guarantee computers to be more cost-effective than textbooks. Therefore, textbook substitution by laptops may be a cost-effective manner to provide classroom learning content.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosangela Bando & Francisco Gallego & Paul Gertler & Dario Romero Fonseca, 2016. "Books or Laptops? The Cost-Effectiveness of Shifting from Printed to Digital Delivery of Educational Content," Documentos de Trabajo 474, Instituto de Economia. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile..
    • Handle: RePEc:ioe:doctra:474
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Margarida Rodrigues & Federico Biagi, 2017. "Digital technologies and learning outcomes of students from low socio-economic background: An Analysis of PISA 2015," JRC Research Reports JRC106999, Joint Research Centre.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • 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
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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