Links I liked

  1. Old Navy has a “blogger” line of clothing. As if I could pull off a slim fit shirt anymore.
  2. Ben Goldacre on “How medicine is broken, and how we can fix it”
  3. How to pick a cell phone plan for international travel
  4. The Atlantic covers my ex-combatant reintegration study
  5. California cracks down on idiot parents who oppose vaccination
  6. A PR victory for One Laptop per Child: Rwanda just put them on the 500 franc note.
    Rwanda Note_500This in spite of the fact that the evaluations suggest the laptops have little impact on education. Sigh.

2 Responses

  1. Another forthcoming AEJ paper also finds zero impact of computers on educational outcomes in California:

    http://people.ucsc.edu/~rfairlie/papers/chico_v34.pdf

    “…We test this hypothesis by conducting the largest- ever field experiment involving the random provision of free computers for home use to students. 1,123 schoolchildren grades 6-10 in 15 California schools participated in the experiment. Although the program significantly increased computer ownership and use, we find no effects on any educational outcomes, including grades, standardized test scores, credits earned, attendance and disciplinary actions. Our estimates are precise enough to rule out even modestly-sized positive or negative impacts. The estimated null effect is consistent with survey evidence showing no change in homework time or other “intermediate” inputs in education for treatment students.”