TY  - JOUR
AU  - Malamud,Ofer
AU  - Pop-Eleches,Cristian
TI  - Home Computer Use and the Development of Human Capital
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15814
PY  - 2010
Y2  - March 2010
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15814
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15814.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Ofer Malamud
Harris School of Public Policy Studies
University of Chicago
1155 East 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637
Tel: 773/702-3382
Fax: 773/702-0926
E-Mail: malamud@uchicago.edu

Cristian Pop-Eleches
Columbia University
SIPA and Economics Department
1022 International Affairs Building, MC 3308
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
Tel: 212/854-4476
Fax: 212/854-8059
E-Mail: cp2124@columbia.edu
AB  - This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the effect of home computers on child and adolescent outcomes. We collected survey data from households who participated in a unique government program in Romania which allocated vouchers for the purchase of a home computer to low-income children based on a simple ranking of family income. We show that children in households who received a voucher were substantially more likely to own and use a computer than their counterparts who did not receive a voucher. Our main results indicate that that home computer use has both positive and negative effects on the development of human capital. Children who won a voucher had significantly lower school grades in Math, English and Romanian but significantly higher scores in a test of computer skills and in self-reported measures of computer fluency. There is also evidence that winning a voucher increased cognitive ability, as measured by Raven's Progressive Matrices. We do not find much evidence for an effect on non-cognitive outcomes. Finally, the presence of parental rules regarding computer use and homework appear to mitigate the effects of computer ownership, suggesting that parental monitoring and supervision may be important mediating factors.
ER  -