The Consequences of Cellphone Restrictions in Classrooms

Abstract

We examine teacher-level cellphone permissiveness in a setting where phones are often used for instructional support and teachers retain discretion over classroom cellphone use. Using linked Chilean administrative and survey data, we exploit variation in cellphone policy within teachers across cohorts and within students across subjects. Greater restrictiveness modestly reduces eighth graders' cellphone use in class, but not tenth graders'. It also lowers eighth graders' self-perceived academic capability, with no detectable effects on test scores. These findings inform settings, more common in low- and middle-income countries, involving uneven classroom enforcement within schools and where phones serve as low-cost instructional tools.