Home Computer Use and the Development of Human Capital *

Abstract

This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of home computers on child and adolescent outcomes by exploiting a voucher program in Romania. Our main results indicate that home computers have both positive and negative effects on the development of human capital. Children who won a voucher to purchase a computer had significantly lower school grades but show improved computer skills. There is also some evidence that winning a voucher increased cognitive skills, as measured by Raven’s Progressive Matrices. We do not find much evidence for an effect on non-cognitive outcomes. Parental rules regarding homework and computer use attenuate the effects of computer ownership, suggesting that parental monitoring and supervision may be important mediating factors.

Surfing alone? The internet and social capital: Evidence from an unforeseeable technological mistake

“…Broadband Internet access also does not crowd out children's extra-curricular school activities, which include such areas as sports, music, arts, and drama. This finding complements the empirical literature on effects of computers and the Internet on children's cognitive and non-cognitive skills (see Malamud and Pop-Eleches (2011) for an overview).…”

“…A growing literature analyzes the effects of computers and the Internet on children's educational achievement, usually with mixed results at best (e.g., Malamud and Pop-Eleches (2011);Vigdor and Ladd (2010)). In terms of effects on social capital, the same negative entertainment function and positive information and communication functions of the Internet hypothesized for adults above may also apply to children and adolescents.…”

Readiness of Young Malaysian Fishermen to Use Global Positioning System within the Fishing Operation

“…technology subsidy) is seen as an effective solution. Malamud and Pop-Eleches (2010) in their study have demonstrated how the poor have significantly increased their usage of technology after they possessed the technology through the subsidy. Such finding has been supported by Flores (2003) who found financial sources as an influential factor for technology usage and stressed that those with wider financial sources seems to have a stronger financial ability to posses technology thus enhance the possibilities of them to use the technology more.…”

“…Furthermore, as high technical complication will affect the frequency of technology usage (Cahill et al, 2007), things are going in different ways for user friendly technology such as GPS-as it involves simple procedures-just by clicking one button, it can navigate them accurately and directly to their intended areas. Despite these benefits, however, there are still fishermen who reluctance to embrace technology in their fishing operation and problems related to financial, lacking of organizations and staffs supports, inadequate number of staffs and inadequate number of relevant trainings are among the identified causes (Flores, 2003;Malamud & Pop-Eleches, 2010).…”

Digital Revolutions in Public Finance

“…While a majority of these studies find that computers have positive effect on student learning outcomes (Banerjee, Cole, and others 2007;Linden 2008;Lai and others 2015;Yang and others 2013;Lai, Khaddage, and Knezek 2013;Mo and others 2014), some find no effects (Barrera-Osario and Linden 2009; Beuermann and others 2015) or negative effects (Linden 2008;Malamud and Pop-Eleches 2011). Yet, few of these studies measure the impacts upon learning outcomes in the longer term, except Banerjee and others (2007).…”