High-Speed Broadband and Academic Achievement in Teenagers: Evidence from Sweden

Erik Grenestam () and Martin Nordin
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Erik Grenestam: Department of Economics, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economics, School of Economics and Management, Lund University, Box 7082, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden, http://www.erikgrenestam.se

No 2017:17, Working Papers from Lund University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This study examines the effects of super-fast internet connections on the academic achievement of students in upper secondary school. We link detailed register data on around 250,000 students to local levels of access to optic fiber broadband and estimate the effect of broadband on student GPA. We show that reaching full coverage in the student’s parish of residence causes a GPA reduction ranging from 3 to 6 percent of a standard deviation. Estimates are consistently more negative for boys and students with low ability and/or low-educated parents. Using PISA survey data, we provide evidence that students living in areas with faster broadband expansion also saw a greater increase in the number of hours spent online during weekdays, suggesting student time use as a mechanism.

Keywords: Education; Broadband; Internet; High-school; GPA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H52 I24 I28 J24 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2017-12-13, Revised 2018-04-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-edu, nep-ict, nep-pay, nep-reg and nep-ure
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2017_017

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