Inequality in Internet Access in India: Implications for Learning during COVID

Sandip Datta () and Geeta Kingdon
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Sandip Datta: University of Delhi

No 15387, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: During COVID school closures, learning become mostly restricted to young people who had internet access at home. This paper examines internet access in India using National Sample Survey 2017-18. It probes the extent of inequality in young people's internet access across gender, caste, religion, rural-urban sector, private-public schools, and income group. Our triple-hurdle model of internet use shows that, ceteris paribus, there is a very significant digital divide across many of the social and economic groups. Additionally, intra-household analysis using family fixed effects estimation shows that girls have significantly lower ability to use internet vis-à-vis their brothers within the household.

Keywords: schooling; internet; equality; COVID-19; India (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I21 I24 I25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2022-06
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ict and nep-ure
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