Working Paper: NBER ID: w28180
Authors: Nicola Bianchi; Yi Lu; Hong Song
Abstract: In this paper, we examine the effect of computer-assisted learning on students’ long-term development. We explore the implementation of the “largest ed-tech intervention in the world to date,” which connected China’s best teachers to more than 100 million rural students through satellite internet. We find evidence that exposure to the program improved students’ academic achievement, labor performance, and computer usage. We observe these effects up to ten years after program implementation. These findings indicate that education technology can have long-lasting positive effects on a variety of outcomes and can be effective in reducing the rural–urban education gap.
Keywords: computer-assisted learning; education technology; rural education; China
JEL Codes: I24; I26; I28; O15; O38
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| computer-assisted learning (CAL) (C87) | long-term academic achievement (I21) |
| computer-assisted learning (CAL) (C87) | labor market outcomes (J48) |
| computer-assisted learning (CAL) (C87) | internet and computer usage (K24) |
| computer-assisted learning (CAL) (C87) | rural-urban education gap (I24) |
| computer-assisted learning (CAL) (C87) | earnings gap (J31) |