Do children benefit from internet access? Experimental evidence from Peru
Year | : | 2019 |
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Author/s | : | Ofer Malamud, Santiago Cueto, Julián Cristiá, Diether W. Beuermann |
Area/s | : | Education and learning |
This paper provides experimental evidence for the impact of home internet access on a broad range of child outcomes in Peru. The authors compare children who were randomly chosen to receive laptops with high-speed internet access to (i) those who did not receive laptops and (ii) those who only received laptops without internet. Researchers find that providing free internet access led to improved computer and internet proficiency relative to those without laptops and improved internet proficiency compared to those with laptops only. However, there were no significant effects of internet access on math and reading achievement, cognitive skills, self-esteem, teacher perceptions, or school grades when compared to either group. The authors explore reasons for the absence of impacts on these key outcomes with survey questions, time-diaries, and computer logs.