Julian P. Cristia

Technology and Child Development: Evidence from the One Laptop Per Child Program

Although many countries are aggressively implementing the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) program, there is a lack of empirical evidence on its effects. This paper presents the impact of the first large-scale randomized evaluation of the OLPC program, using data collected after 15 months of implementation in 319 primary schools in rural Peru. The results indicate that the program increased the ratio of computers per student from 0. 12 to 1. 18 in treatment schools. This expansion in access translated into substantial increases in use both at school and at home. No evidence is found of effects on enrollment and test scores in Math and Language. Some positive effects are found, however, in general cognitive skills as measured by Raven’s Progressive Matrices, a verbal fluency test and a Coding test.

The Effect of a First Child on Female Labor Supply Evidence from Women Seeking Fertility Services

Estimating the causal effect of a first child on female labor supply is complicated by the endogeneity of fertility. This paper addresses this problem by focusing on a sample of women from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) who sought help to become pregnant. After a certain period, only some of these women gave birth. Results using this strategy show that having a first child younger than one year old reduces female employment by 26 percentage points. These estimates are close to OLS estimates from census data and to those from OLS and fixed-effects models on NSFG data.

Rising mortality and life expectancy differentials by lifetime earnings in the United States

Are mortality and life expectancy differences by socioeconomic groups increasing in the United States? Using a unique data set matching administrative and survey data, this study explores trends in these differentials by lifetime earnings for the 1983-2003 period. Results indicate a consistent increase in mortality differentials across sex and age groups. The study also finds a substantial increase in life expectancy differentials by lifetime earnings: the top-to-bottom quintile premium increased 30 percent for men and almost doubled for women. These results complement recent research to point to almost five decades of increasing differential mortality in the United States.

Home Computers and Child Outcomes: Short-Term Impacts from a Randomized Experiment in Peru

This paper presents results from a randomized control trial in which approximately 1,000 OLPC XO laptops were provided for home use to children attending primary schools in Lima, Peru. The intervention increased access and use of home computers, with some substitution away from computer use outside the home. Beneficiaries were more likely to complete domestic chores but less likely to read books. Treatment children scored almost one standard deviation higher in a test of XO proficiency, though there were no effects on objective and self-reported skills for using a Windows-based PC and Internet. There were positive impacts on the Ravens Progressive Matrices test among children who did not have a home computer before the intervention, but no significant effects for the sample as a whole. Finally, there was little evidence for spillovers within schools, although close friends and classmates of laptop recipients did exhibit higher proficiency with the XO computer.

The Early Years: Child Well-being and the Role of Public Policy

This synopsis reviews the arguments in favor of a larger role for public policy in determining the well-being of young children. It explains where the region is in terms of child well-being today, how it should go about improving public programs, and the institutional challenges to implementing those programs. Together, this synopsis and the table of contents provide just a taste of the rich information and valuable policy implications contained in this years edition of the DIA.El bienestar infantil es importante tanto por razones eticas como economicas porque los ninos que prosperan en los primeros anos tienen mas probabilidad de volverse ciudadanos productivos y saludables en el futuro. Este ano, la edicion de Desarrollo en las Americas (DIA) se centra en el bienestar infantil desde la concepcion hasta los 8 anos de edad y establece la necesidad por la intervencion publica para mejorar los resultados de los ninos. El proceso del desarrollo del nino - fisico, comunicativo, cognitivo y socio-emocional - esta determinado por las experiencias que los ninos acumulan en el hogar, las guarderias, y en la escuela. Los padres, familiares, otros cuidadores, maestros y el gobierno influyen en la formacion de esas experiencias. Este libro ofrece sugerencias para la formulacion de la politica publica para mejorar esas experiencias de manera que sin duda marcaran la vida de los ninos y las sociedades en las que viven.

Does Technology in Schools Affect Repetition, Dropout and Enrollment? Evidence from Peru

Many developing countries are allocating significant resources to expanding technology access in schools. Whether these investments will translate into measurable educational improvements remains an open question because of the limited evidence available. This paper contributes to filling that gap by exploiting a large-scale public program that increased computer and Internet access in secondary public schools in Peru. Rich longitudinal school-level data from 2001 to 2006 are used to implement a differences-in-differences framework. Results indicate no statistically significant effects of increasing technology access in schools on repetition, dropout and initial enrollment. Large sample sizes allow ruling out even modest effects.

Did you get your shots? Experimental evidence on the role of reminders

Many families fail to vaccinate their children despite the supply of these services at no cost. This study tests whether personal reminders can increase demand for vaccination. A field experiment was conducted in rural Guatemala in which timely reminders were provided to families whose children were due for a vaccine. The six-month intervention increased the probability of vaccination completion by 2.2 percentage points among all children in treatment communities. Moreover, for children in treatment communities who were due to receive a vaccine, and whose parents were expected to be reminded about that due date, the probability of vaccination completion increased by 4.6 percentage points. The cost of an additional child with complete vaccination due to the intervention is estimated at about

Improving the Health Coverage of the Rural Poor: Does Contracting-Out Mobile Medical Teams Work?

7.50.

The Effects of Shared School Technology Access on Students’ Digital Skills in Peru

Abstract Low population density in rural developing countries coupled with deficient infrastructure, weak state capacity and limited budgets makes increasing health care coverage difficult. Contracting-out mobile medical teams may be a helpful solution in this context. This article examines the impact of a large-scale programme of this type in Guatemala. We document large impacts on immunisation rates for children and prenatal care provider choices. The programme increased substantially the role of physician and nurses at the expense of traditional midwives. The results indicate that mobile medical teams substantially increased coverage of health care services in Guatemala, and could be effective in other developing countries.

Access to pre-primary education and progression in primary School : evidence from rural Guatemala

This paper analyzes the effects of increased shared computer access in secondary schools in Peru. Administrative data are used to identify, through propensity-score matching, two groups of schools with similar observable educational inputs but different intensity in computer access. Extensive primary data collected from the 202 matched schools are used to determine whether increased shared computer access at schools affects digital skills and academic achievement. Results suggest that small increases in shared computer access, one more computer per 40 students, can produce large increases in digital skills (0.3 standard deviations). No effects are found on test scores in Math and Language.