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dc.titleDoes Education Prevent Job Loss during Downturns?: Evidence from Exogenous Schools Assignments and COVID-19 in Barbados
dc.contributor.authorBeuermann, Diether
dc.contributor.authorBottan, Nicolas L.
dc.contributor.authorHoffmann, Bridget
dc.contributor.authorJackson, C. Kirabo
dc.contributor.authorVera-Cossio, Diego A.
dc.contributor.orgunitDepartment of Research and Chief Economist
dc.coverageBarbados
dc.date.available2021-09-17T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2021-09-17T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractCanonical human capital theories posit that education, by enhancing worker skills, reduces the likelihood that a worker will be laid off during times of economic change. Yet, this has not been demonstrated causally. We link administrative education records from 1987 through 2002 to nationally representative surveys conducted before and after the onset of COVID-19 in Barbados to explore the causal impact of improved education on job loss during this period. Using a regression discontinuity (RD) design, Beuermann and Jackson (2020) show that females (but not males) who score just above the admission threshold for more selective schools in Barbados attain more years of education than those that scored just below (essentially holding initial ability fixed). Here, in follow-up data, we show that these same females (but not males) are much less likely to have lost a job after the onset of COVID-19. We show that these effects are not driven by sectoral changes, or changes in labor supply. Because employers observe incumbent worker productivity, these patterns are inconsistent with pure education signaling, and they suggest that education enhances worker skill.
dc.format.extent33
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0003624
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Does-Education-Prevent-Job-Loss-during-Downturns-Evidence-from-Exogenous-Schools-Assignments-and-COVID-19-in-Barbados.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectCoronavirus
dc.subjectPandemics
dc.subjectEducational Attainment
dc.subjectWomen
dc.subjectFemale Education
dc.subjectHuman Capital
dc.subjectLabor Force
dc.subjectLabor Productivity
dc.subjectUnemployment Rate
dc.subjectEducational Institution
dc.subjectEconomic Recession
dc.subject.jelcodeJ0 - Labor and Demographic Economics: General
dc.subject.jelcodeI20 - Education and Research Institutions: General
dc.subject.keywordsEducation;Barbados
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberIDB-WP-01264
idb.operationRG-K1415
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