Inequality in the Effects of Primary School Closures Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Netherlands
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 112,
May 2022
(pp. 303-07)
Abstract
Using a large dataset of around 500,000 students from about 1,900 schools, this paper shows the effect of two school closures and 1.5 years of the COVID-19 pandemic on standardized learning growth for mathematics, reading, and spelling in Dutch primary education. We find that the school closures have a negative effect on standardized learning growth, amounting to an annual average of 5.5 weeks of learning loss. When analyzing differential effects by socioeconomic status, parental education, household income, household structure, household size, and migration status, we find that the negative effect is larger for the more vulnerable students.Citation
Haelermans, Carla, Madelon Jacobs, Rolf van der Velden, Lynn van Vugt, and Sanne van Wetten. 2022. "Inequality in the Effects of Primary School Closures Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from the Netherlands." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 112: 303-07. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20221107Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- D63 Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
- H51 National Government Expenditures and Health
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination