The Effects of Computer-Assisted Learning on Students' Long-Term Development

This paper examines the effect of computer-assisted education on students’ long-term development, exploring the implementation of a Chinese policy that connected the country's best teachers to rural students through broadband internet. We find evidence that exposure to higher-quality education through computer assistance improved students’ academic achievement, labor market performance, and computer usage, while decreasing mental health. We observe these effects between six and ten years after program implementation. These findings indicate that education technology might have long-lasting positive effects on a wide variety of outcomes. Moreover, technology can be effective in reducing the rural-urban education gap.