Effect of Computer

The Effects of Home Computers on Educational Outcomes:
Evidence from a Field Experiment with Community College Students

forthcoming Economic Journal

Robert W. Fairlie
University of California, Santa Cruz [e-mail] Rebecca A. London
Stanford University [e-mail] July 2011

We thank the Community Technology Foundation of California (ZeroDivide), UCACCORD, and Computers for Classrooms, Inc. for funding. We thank Hardik Bhatt, Jesse Catlin, Eric Deveraux, Oliver Falck, Eszter Hargittai, Ofer Malamud, Jeff Prince, Jon Robinson, Rhonda Sharpe and participants at seminars and workshops at the Center for Human Potential and Public Policy, the University of Chicago, UCLA, Case Western Reserve University, University College Dublin, University of Rome, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, the University of Wisconsin, San Francisco Federal Reserve, UCSC and APPAM meetings for comments and suggestions. We also thank Mike Rasmussen, Karen Micalizio, Katalin Miko, Bev McManus, Linda Cobbler, Zeke Rogers and others at Butte College for helping with administering the program and providing administrative data, and Samantha Grunberg, Miranda Schirmer, Luba Petersen, Caitlin White, Anita McSwane-Williams, Matt Jennings, and Emilie Juncker for research assistance. Finally, special thanks go to Pat Furr for providing computers for the study and for her extensive help in administering the giveaway program.
Abstract

There is no clear theoretical prediction regarding whether home computers are an important input in the educational production function. To investigate the hypothesis that access to a home computer affects educational outcomes, we conduct the first-ever field experiment involving the provision of free computers to students for home use. Financial aid students attending a large community college in Northern California were randomly selected to receive free computers and were followed for two years. Although estimates for a few measures are

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