Home Computer Use and the Development of Human Capital

Ofer Malamud Cristian Pop-Eleches University of Chicago and NBER Columbia University, BREAD, NBER
January 2010

Abstract
This paper uses a regression discontinuity design to estimate the e§ect 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 e§ects on the development of human capital. Children who won a voucher had signiÖcantly lower school grades in Math, English and Romanian but signiÖcantly higher scores in a test of computer skills and in self-reported measures of computer áuency. There is also evidence that winning a voucher increased cognitive ability, as measured by Ravenís Progressive Matrices. We do not Önd much evidence for an e§ect on non-cognitive outcomes. Finally, the presence of parental rules regarding computer use and homework appear to mitigate the e§ects of computer ownership, suggesting that parental monitoring and supervision may be important mediating factors.
Email malamud@uchicago.edu and cp2124@columbia.edu