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How information about inequality impacts support for school closure policies: Evidence from the pandemic

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Listed:
  • Bellani, Luna
  • Bertogg, Ariane
  • Kulic, Nevena
  • Strauß, Susanne

Abstract

The increase in inequalities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been the topic of intense scholarly and public debate. School closures are one of the containment measures that have been debated most critically in this regard. What drives support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures during a public health crisis such as the current COVID-19 pandemic? More specifically, do inequality concerns affect this support? To identify causal linkages between awareness of inequalities and support for school and daycare/kindergarten closures, we use a survey experiment with information treatment, in which we randomly assign information designed to prime the respondents to think about either education inequality, gender inequality, or both. Based on an original survey experiment involving more than 3,000 respondents, conducted in spring 2021 at the end of a long lockdown in Germany, our findings show that concerns about education inequality and gender inequality are equally important for decreasing support for preschool and primary school closures, while they do not seem to matter regarding secondary school closures.

Suggested Citation

  • Bellani, Luna & Bertogg, Ariane & Kulic, Nevena & Strauß, Susanne, 2022. "How information about inequality impacts support for school closure policies: Evidence from the pandemic," Working Papers 11, University of Konstanz, Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality. Perceptions, Participation and Policies".
  • Handle: RePEc:zbw:cexwps:11
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    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/268483/1/1828157163.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Thomas Hale & Noam Angrist & Rafael Goldszmidt & Beatriz Kira & Anna Petherick & Toby Phillips & Samuel Webster & Emily Cameron-Blake & Laura Hallas & Saptarshi Majumdar & Helen Tatlow, 2021. "A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 529-538, April.
    2. Ludovica Gambaro & Jan Marcus & Frauke Peter, 2019. "School entry, afternoon care, and mothers’ labour supply," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 769-803, September.
    3. Herman G. van de Werfhorst, 2021. "Inequality in learning is a major concern after school closures," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 118(20), pages 2105243118-, May.
    4. Trump, Kris-Stella, 2018. "Income Inequality Influences Perceptions of Legitimate Income Differences," British Journal of Political Science, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 929-952, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Childcare Policy; COVID-19; School Closures; Survey Experiment; Information Treatment; Policy Support; Educational Inequality; Gender Inequality; Germany;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods

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