The (Positive) Effect of Macroeconomic Crises on the Schooling and Employment Decisions of Children in a Middle-Income Country

The (Positive) Effect of Macroeconomic Crises on the Schooling and Employment Decisions of Children in a Middle-Income Country

The impact of macroeconomic crises on parents' investments in the human capital of their children is a widely contested issue. The author analyzes the effects of the profound macroeconomic crisis in Peru in 1988-92 on the schooling and employm...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Schady, Norbert R.
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2013
Subjects:	ADULT EDUCATION AGED CHILD LABOR DEBT DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE DEPENDENT VARIABLE DEPRESSION DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DISASTERS ECONOMIC CONTRACTION EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE EMPLOYMENT ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT RATES ENROLMENT RATES EXPENDITURES FIRST GRADE FOREIGN EXCHANGE GIRLS HEALTH SURVEY HEALTH SURVEYS HOUSEHOLD BEHAVIOR HOUSEHOLD CHARACTERISTICS HOUSEHOLD DATA HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURES HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE HUMAN CAPITAL INCOME INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME HOUSEHOLDS INCOME LEVELS INCOME QUINTILES INFLATION INFORMAL SECTOR INTEREST RATES LABOR FORCE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION LABOR MARKET LABOR MARKETS LEISURE LIVING STANDARDS LIVING STANDARDS MEASUREMENT LONG-TERM TRENDS MACROECONOMIC CRISIS MARGINAL BENEFITS MARGINAL COST MARGINAL COSTS MEAN INCOME MIGRANTS MIGRATION MULTIVARIATE REGRESSIONS NUTRITION NUTRITIONAL STATUS PARENTS POLICY MAKERS POLICY RESEARCH POOR HOUSEHOLDS PRIMARY EDUCATION PRIMARY SCHOOL PRIVATE COSTS PRIVATE SECTOR PRODUCTIVITY PUBLIC EXPENDITURES PUBLIC SECTOR REAL WAGES RELATIVE MAGNITUDE RURAL AREAS SAFETY SAMPLE SIZES SCHOOLING ATTAINMENT SOCIAL PROTECTION TERTIARY EDUCATION UNEMPLOYMENT URBAN AREAS WAGES WORKERS MACROECONOMIC SHOCKS SCHOOLING HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY COSTS SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS MIDDLE-INCOME ECONOMIES ATTENDANCE EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/01/1687155/positive-effect-macroeconomic-crises-schooling-employment-decisions-children-middle-income-country http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15723

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Summary:	The impact of macroeconomic crises on parents' investments in the human capital of their children is a widely contested issue. The author analyzes the effects of the profound macroeconomic crisis in Peru in 1988-92 on the schooling and employment decisions made by urban school-age children. He arrives at two basic findings: First, the crisis had no effect on the attendance rates of school-age children. But the share of children who were both employed and in school fell significantly during the crisis. Second, mean educational attainment was significantly higher for children who were exposed to the crisis than for those who were not. THe author argues that these findings may be related: children who are not employed have more time available and may therefore put more effort into school. He concludes with a discussion of the implications of his findings for the design of appropriate social protection policies.