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. 2022 Feb:206:104574.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpubeco.2021.104574. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

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

Francesco Agostinelli  1 , Matthias Doepke  2 , Giuseppe Sorrenti  3 , Fabrizio Zilibotti  4
Affiliations

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

Francesco Agostinelli et al. J Public Econ. 2022 Feb.

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: Covid-19; Neighborhood Effects; Pandemics; Parenting; Parenting Style; Peer effects; Skill Acquisition.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Peer Quality: School vs Neighborhood. The figure shows the relationship (scatter plot) between peer quality, i.e., average GPA, and median family income at the census block level. The black dots represent peers’ average GPA that children are exposed to at school by the median family income level of the census block where children live. The grey dots represent peers’ average GPA of the census block (neighborhood) where children live by the median family income level of the census block where children live.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simulated Effects of Covid-19 on Peer Effects and Parenting. The figure shows the simulated effect of Covid-19 on peer quality (panel a), parental time investments (panel b), and authoritarian parenting (panel c) by neighborhood (census block) income. Neighborhood income is expressed in terms of income percentile of the neighborhood where children live. The y-axis displays changes in each variable relative to baseline.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Simulated Effects of Covid on a Child’s Skills. The figure shows the simulated effect of Covid-19 on children’s skills by neighborhood (census block) income. Neighborhood income is expressed in terms of income percentile of the neighborhood where children live. The y-axis displays changes in children’s skills (expressed in standard deviations) relative to baseline.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adams-Prassl A., Boneva T., Golin M., Rauh C. Inequality in the Impact of the Coronavirus Shock: Evidence from Real Time Surveys. J. Public Econ. 2020;189:104245.
    1. Adams-Prassl A., Boneva T., Golin M., Rauh C. IZA Discussion Paper. 2020. Work That Can Be Done from Home: Evidence on Variation Within and Across Occupations and Idustries; p. 13374.
    1. Agostinelli, F., Doepke, M., Sorrenti, G., Zilibotti, F., 2020. It Takes a Village: The Economics of Parenting with Neighborhood and Peer Effects. NBER Working Paper 27050.
    1. Agostinelli, F., Wiswall, M., 2016. Estimating the Technology of Children’s Skill Formation. NBER Working Paper 22442.
    1. Alon, T., Doepke, M., Olmstead-Rumsey, J., Tertilt, M., 2020. This time it’s different: the role of women’s employment in a pandemic recession. NBER Working Paper 27660.

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