Television and Academic Achievement: Evidence from the Digital Television Transition in the UK

Abstract This paper exploits exogenous variation in the transition date from an analogue to digital television signal in the UK across more than 32,000 geographical units to examine the causal impact of television on academic performance and potential mechanisms. Using a large administrative dataset on the universe of students in public education in England, I show that the switchover increased pupil test scores and that the effect is driven by economically disadvantaged students. Using TV market data and a child survey dataset, I investigate possible mechanisms. I show that the digital transition considerably increased TV viewing time and displaced forms of socialisation associated with risky behaviour for disadvantaged children.