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Does ICT Increase Years of Education? Evidence from Peru

Author

Listed:
  • Julian Cristia

    (Inter-American Development Bank, Washington, DC, USA)

  • Alejo Czerwonko

    (Columbia University, New York, NY, USA)

  • Pablo Garofalo

    (University of Houston Department of Economics, Houston, TX, USA)

Abstract

In policy circles a lively debate exists regarding the effects on educational outcomes of introducing computers in schools. A number of empirical studies have measured its effect on test scores. There is a lack of empirical evidence, however, on the effects of this type of intervention on drop-out and repetition rates, variables that have a direct impact on years of education. This paper aims to fill this gap in the literature. To this end, we analyze rich longitudinal censal data from Peru as well as information regarding a specific program that deployed computers in 350 schools in the year 2004. Results indicate null impacts of increasing computer access on repetition, drop-out rates and initial enrollment. The large sample sizes allow us to detect even very modest effects. These results, together with previous evidence on the lack of effects on tests scores, point to a limited potential of computers in improving education outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Julian Cristia & Alejo Czerwonko & Pablo Garofalo, 2010. "Does ICT Increase Years of Education? Evidence from Peru," OVE Working Papers 0110, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of Evaluation and Oversight (OVE).
    • Handle: RePEc:idb:ovewps:0110
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Abhijit V. Banerjee & Shawn Cole & Esther Duflo & Leigh Linden, 2007. "Remedying Education: Evidence from Two Randomized Experiments in India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(3), pages 1235-1264.
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    3. Stephen Machin & Sandra McNally & Olmo Silva, 2007. "New Technology in Schools: Is There a Payoff?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 117(522), pages 1145-1167, July.
    4. Busso, Matias & DiNardo, John & McCrary, Justin, 2009. "New Evidence on the Finite Sample Properties of Propensity Score Matching and Reweighting Estimators," IZA Discussion Papers 3998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Austan Goolsbee & Jonathan Guryan, 2006. "The Impact of Internet Subsidies in Public Schools," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(2), pages 336-347, May.
    6. Joshua Angrist & Victor Lavy, 2002. "New Evidence on Classroom Computers and Pupil Learning," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 112(482), pages 735-765, October.
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    9. Barrera-Osorio, Felipe & Linden, Leigh L., 2009. "The use and misuse of computers in education : evidence from a randomized experiment in Colombia," Policy Research Working Paper Series 4836, The World Bank.
    10. Joanna K. Swaffield, 2001. "Does Measurement Error Bias Fixed‐effects Estimates of the Union Wage Effect?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 63(4), pages 437-457, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Blimpo,Moussa Pouguinimpo & Gajigo,Ousman & Owusu,Solomon & Tomita,Ryoko & Xu,Yanbin, 2020. "Technology in the Classroom and Learning in Secondary Schools," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9288, The World Bank.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ICT; Test Scores; Education; Peru;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy

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