GLO Discussion Paper of the Month December 2019: Smartphone Use and Academic Performance

The GLO Discussion Paper of the Month of December uses longitudinal data to investigate the relationship between smartphone use and academic performance in universities. It suggests that smartphone use has a causal negative effect on academic performance. The paper makes a significant contribution to current policy debates around the world, on whether smartphones should be banned from schools. 

GLO Discussion Papers are research and policy papers of the GLO Network which are widely circulated to encourage discussion. Provided in cooperation with EconStor, a service of the ZBW – Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, GLO Discussion Papers are among others listed in RePEc (see IDEAS, EconPapers)Complete list of all GLO DPs downloadable for free.

GLO Discussion Paper of the Month: December

GLO Discussion Paper No.  438, 2019

Smartphone Use and Academic Performance: First Evidence from Longitudinal Data –  Download PDF
by Amez, Simon & Vujić, Sunčica & De Marez, Lieven & Baert, Stijn

GLO Fellows Stijn Baert & Sunčica Vujić

Author Abstract:  To study the causal impact of smartphone use on academic performance, we collected—for the first time worldwide—longitudinal data on students’ smartphone use and educational performance. For three consecutive years we surveyed all students attending classes in eleven different study programs at two Belgian universities on general smartphone use and other drivers of academic achievement. These survey data were merged with the exam scores of these students. We analyzed the resulting data by means of panel data random effects estimation controlling for unobserved individual characteristics. A one standard deviation increase in overall smartphone use results in a decrease of 0.349 points (out of 20) and a decrease of 2.616 percentage points in the fraction of exams passed.

GLO Discussion Papers of December 2019

438 Smartphone Use and Academic Performance: First Evidence from Longitudinal Data –  Download PDF
by 
Amez, Simon & Vujić, Sunčica & De Marez, Lieven & Baert, Stijn

437 Does loneliness lurk in temp work? Exploring the associations between temporary employment, loneliness at work and job satisfaction –  Download PDF
by 
Moens, Eline & Baert, Stijn & Verhofstadt, Elsy & Van Ootegem, Luc

436 Labour Market Outcomes for Cancer Survivors: A Review of the Reviews –  Download PDF
by 
Sharipova, Adelina & Baert, Stijn

435 The effect of same-sex marriage legalization on interstate migration in the United States –  Download PDF
by 
Marcén, Miriam & Morales, Marina

434 What Does a Job Candidate’s Age Signal to Employers?  –  Download PDF
by 
Van Borm, Hannah & Burn, Ian & Baert, Stijn

433 AI and Robotics Innovation: a Sectoral and Geographical Mapping using Patent Data –  Download PDF
by 
Van Roy, Vincent & Vertesy, Daniel & Damioli, Giacomo

432 Can bribery buy health? Evidence from post-communist countries  –  Download PDF
by 
Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga

431 Networks, Start-up Capital and Women’s Entrepreneurial Performance in Africa: Evidence from Eswatini –  Download PDF
by 
Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry

430 An exploratory study of populism: the municipality-level predictors of electoral outcomes in Italy  –  Download PDF
by 
Levi, Eugenio & Patriarca, Fabrizio

429 Estimating Poverty for Refugee Populations: Can Cross-Survey Imputation Methods Substitute for Data Scarcity? –  Download PDF
by 
Dang, Hai-Anh H. & Verme, Paolo

428 The Microeconomic Impacts of Employee Representatives: Evidence from Membership Thresholds –  Download PDF
by 
Martins, Pedro S.

427 Trade in Information Technologies and Changes in the Demand for Occupations –  Download PDF
by 
Jerbashian, Vahagn

426 The Mental Health Effects of Retirement –  Download PDF
by 
Picchio, Matteo & van Ours, Jan C.

425 The Impact of Internship Experience During Secondary Education on Schooling and Labour Market Outcomes –  Download PDF
by 
Neyt, Brecht & Verhaest, Dieter & Baert, Stijn

424 Training, Human Capital, and Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurial Performance –  Download PDF
by 
Brixiová, Zuzana & Kangoye, Thierry

GLO DP Team
Senior Editors: Matloob Piracha (University of Kent) & GLO; Klaus F. Zimmermann (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University and Bonn University).
Managing Editor: Magdalena Ulceluse, University of GroningenDP@glabor.org  

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