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Do Information Technologies Improve Teenagers’ Sexual Education? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Colombia

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  • Alberto Chong
  • Marco Gonzalez-Navarro
  • Dean Karlan
  • Martin Valdivia

Abstract

Across public junior high schools in 21 Colombian cities, we conducted a randomized evaluation of a mandatory six-month internet-based sexual education course. Six months after finishing the course, we find a 0.4 standard deviation improvement in knowledge, a 0.2 standard deviation improvement in attitudes, and a 55% increase in the likelihood of redeeming vouchers for condoms as a result of taking the course. We find no evidence of spillovers to control classrooms within treatment schools, and we find treatment effects are enhanced when a larger share of a student’s friends also takes the course. The low cost of the online course along with the effectiveness we document suggests this technology is a viable alternative for improving sexual education in middle income countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Alberto Chong & Marco Gonzalez-Navarro & Dean Karlan & Martin Valdivia, 2013. "Do Information Technologies Improve Teenagers’ Sexual Education? Evidence from a Randomized Evaluation in Colombia," NBER Working Papers 18776, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:18776
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    2. Jamison, Julian & Karlan, Dean & Raffler, Pia, 2013. "Mixed Method Evaluation of a Passive mHealth Sexual Information Texting Service in Uganda," Working Papers 116, Yale University, Department of Economics.
    3. repec:dgr:rugsom:14017-eef is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Julian Jamison, Dean Karlan, Pia Raffler, 2013. "Mixed Method Evaluation of a Passive Health Sexual Information Texting Service in Uganda-Working Paper 332," Working Papers 332, Center for Global Development.
    5. David SAHN & Catalina HERRERA, 2014. "The Impact of Early Childbearing on Schooling and Cognitive Skills among Young Women in Madagascar," Working Papers 201428, CERDI.
    6. Melissa Hidrobo & Giordano Palloni & Daniel O. Gilligan & Jenny C. Aker & Natasha Ledlie, 2022. "Paying for Digital Information: Assessing Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for a Digital Agriculture and Nutrition Service in Ghana," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 70(4), pages 1367-1402.
    7. Carole Treibich & Aurélia Lépine, 2019. "Estimating misreporting in condom use and its determinants among sex workers: Evidence from the list randomisation method," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(1), pages 144-160, January.
    8. Juliane Zenker & Andreas Wagener & Sebastian Vollmer, 2018. "Better Knowledge Need Not Affect Behavior: A Randomized Evaluation of the Demand for Lottery Tickets in Rural Thailand," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 32(3), pages 570-583.
    9. Dupas, Pascaline & Miguel, Edward, 2016. "Impacts and Determinants of Health Levels in Low-Income Countries," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt3r04k69j, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    10. De Cao, Elisabetta & Lutz, Clemens, 2014. "Sensitive survey questions," Research Report 14017-EEF, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).

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    JEL classification:

    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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