Session 4D: COVID 19, Learning loss and Mortality (Auditorium 4)
Moderator: David Raitzer
Impacts of COVID-19 on learning loss of children in households in ASEAN countries
Peter Morgan (ADBI), Tetsushi Sonobe (ADBI), Long Trinh (ADBI) and Kunhyui Kim (ADBI)
Potentially one of the most serious long-term impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on households is learning losses of children due to reduced school attendance and/or the shift to online learning. In order to capture these impacts, we carried out stratified surveys of households in 7 ASEAN countries--Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam--which included questions related to learning loss as well as control variables on household income, size, income and gender of household head, etc. Using this data we analyze the extent of learning losses and the factors that are associated with them.
JEL Code/s: I15, I18, I3
The Edtech impact on intra-household education investment: Evidence from RCT intervention on out-of-school children in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic
Zhigang Li, Naijia Guo (Chinese University of Hong Kong) and Uttam Sharma
This study provides evidence on how education technology affects intra-household education investment. We take advantage of an intervention that provided education tablets and virtual tutoring to out-of-school children in Bangladesh (with an RCT design). Preliminary findings are: (i) the intervention significantly improved learning in both literacy and numeracy; (ii) tablets and tutors crowded out formal schooling, but increased time spent on online classes provided by schools; (iii) both tablets and tutors affect the learning; and (iv) family investment and Edtech are complements in improving learning by OOSC, especially for girls.
JEL Code/s: H52, I20, J16
Excess mortality and COVID-19 lockdowns: Results from mixed-effects modelling for Thailand
Nishtha Kochhar (Georgetown University), Pamela Lapitan, and Milan Thomas
Accurate mortality data are critical for understanding the impact of COVID-19 and learning lessons from crisis responses. But official statistics risk undercounting deaths due to limited testing and underreporting, especially in developing countries. Thailand has experienced four COVID-19 waves and used a color-coded, province-level system for lockdowns. To account for deaths directly and indirectly caused by COVID-19, we use mixed-effects modelling to estimate counterfactual deaths from January 2020 to December 2021 and construct a monthly time series of provincial excess mortality. Then, a variety of panel methods are used to characterize the correlations among restrictions, mobility, and excess mortality.
JEL Code/s: C1, I10
Self-learning at the right level, COVID-19 school closure, and noncognitive abilities
Minhaj Mahmud, Yasuyuki Sawada, Mai Seki, and Kazuma Takakura
This study investigates the long-term effects of a globally popular method of self-learning at the right level, a.k.a., Kumon Method of Learning, which was found to be effective right after the intervention in improving learning outcomes—the cognitive and noncognitive abilities of disadvantaged students—in a developing country, Bangladesh. Six years after the end of initial intervention, we find the effects on cognitive abilities appear to be attenuated. However, the effects on noncognitive abilities or personality traits such as self-esteem scale remain salient despite the COVID-19 related school closure and other disruption. This study is one of the few to uncover a long-term follow-up of an experimental educational intervention.
JEL Code/s: I20, O12