When the great equalizer shuts down: schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times

Francesco Agostinelli, Matthias Doepke, Giuseppe Sorrenti and Fabrizio Zilibotti

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: What are the effects of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s education? Online education is an imperfect substitute for in-person learning, particularly for children from low-income families. Peer effects also change: schools allow children from different socio-economic backgrounds to mix together, and this effect is lost when schools are closed. Another factor is the response of parents, some of whom compensate for the changed environment through their own efforts, while others are unable to do so. We examine the interaction of these factors with the aid of a structural model of skill formation. We find that school closures have a large, persistent, and unequal effect on human capital accumulation. High school students from low-income neighborhoods suffer a learning loss of 0.4 standard deviations after a one-year school closure, whereas children from high-income neighborhoods initially remain unscathed. The channels operating through schools, peers, and parents all contribute to growing educational inequality during the pandemic.

Keywords: skill acquisition; peer effects; parenting; parenting style; neighborhood effects; COVID-19; pandemics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 I20 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-02-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

Published in Journal of Public Economics, 1, February, 2022, 206, pp. 104574. ISSN: 0047-2727

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/123929/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: When the great equalizer shuts down: Schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times (2022)
Working Paper: When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Times (2020)
Working Paper: When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Time (2020)
Working Paper: When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Times (2020)
Working Paper: When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Times (2020)
Working Paper: When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Times (2020)
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