TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Shi, Ying
AU  - Villarroel, Francisco
        TI  - The Consequences of Cellphone Restrictions in Classrooms
        PY  - 2026/Feb/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18426
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/index.php/publications/dp18426
        AB  - Schools are increasingly restricting cellphones worldwide amid concerns about achievement and mental health, yet causal evidence on school-level bans remains mixed. We examine cellphone restrictions in Chile before the pandemic, where teacher discretion over cellphone use generated classroom-level variation. Using administrative and survey data, we exploit cross-cohort, within-teacher, and within-student cross-subject variation in cellphone policies. Restrictions modestly reduce eighth graders’ in-class recreational cellphone use but not for tenth graders, suggesting uneven compliance. They also lower eighth graders’ perceived academic capability without affecting test scores. Our findings best extrapolate to decentralized policy contexts and contexts with uneven enforcement within schools.
        KW  - cellphone bans
KW  - student outcomes
        ER  -