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The academic impact of natural disasters: evidence from L’Aquila earthquake

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  • Giorgio Di Pietro

Abstract

This paper uses a standard difference-in-differences approach to examine the effect of the L’Aquila earthquake on the academic performance of the students of the local university. The empirical results indicate that this natural disaster reduced students’ probability of graduating on-time and slightly increased students’ probability of dropping out. While post-disaster measures (e.g. fast re-establishment of education activities in temporary locations) are likely to have mitigated the effects of this event, disruptions in the learning environment and the mental trauma suffered by students in the aftermath of the earthquake may have worsened their academic performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgio Di Pietro, 2018. "The academic impact of natural disasters: evidence from L’Aquila earthquake," Education Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(1), pages 62-77, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:edecon:v:26:y:2018:i:1:p:62-77
    DOI: 10.1080/09645292.2017.1394984
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    Cited by:

    1. Cuffe, Harold E & Wills, Olivia, 2018. "Opportunity from disaster: Evidence of the Christchurch earthquake’s effects on high schoolers’ post-graduation outcomes," Working Paper Series 7891, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    2. Kyle Breen & Mauricio Montes & Haorui Wu & Betty S. Lai, 2023. "College Students and Environmental Disasters: A Review of the Literature," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Dagorn, Etienne & Moulin, Léonard, 2025. "Dropping out of university in response to the COVID-19 pandemic," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    4. Seth Gershenson & Erdal Tekin, 2018. "The Effect of Community Traumatic Events on Student Achievement: Evidence from the Beltway Sniper Attacks," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(4), pages 513-544, Fall.
    5. Kun Zhang, Ying-Leh Ling & Ying-Leh Ling, 2025. "The Role of Psychological Distress in Shaping Academic Adjustment: Implications for Undergraduate Support Systems," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 9(1), pages 1707-1714, January.
    6. Giorgio Di Pietro & Federico Biagi & Patricia Costa & Zbigniew Karpinski & Jacopo Mazza, 2020. "The likely impact of COVID-19 on education: Reflections based on the existing literature and recent international datasets," JRC Research Reports JRC121071, Joint Research Centre.
    7. Marina Murat & Luca Bonacini, 2020. "Coronavirus pandemic, remote learning and education inequalities," Department of Economics (DEMB) 0177, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Department of Economics "Marco Biagi".
    8. Jones, Daniel & Murray, Neil, 2025. "The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on English medium instruction teachers’ professional identity in a Ukrainian medical university," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. Cuffe, Harold E & Wills, Olivia, 2018. "Opportunity from disaster: Evidence of the Christchurch earthquake’s effects on high schoolers’ post-graduation outcomes," Working Paper Series 20850, Victoria University of Wellington, School of Economics and Finance.
    10. Sarah Gust, 2024. "(Not) Going to School in Times of Climate Change: Natural Disasters and Student Achievement," ifo Working Paper Series 413, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions

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