Parents’ Job Loss Lowers Children’s Educational Opportunities
ResearchZEW Study on the Impact of Income Shocks on Argentine Families
If the (mostly male) primary breadwinner loses their job, this increases the likelihood of their partner entering a less favourable employment situation and their children dropping out of school. This is revealed in a study conducted by ZEW Mannheim in collaboration with the Center for Distributive, Labor, and Social Studies (CEDLAS) at the University of La Plata. The study, based on longitudinal data from 19,000 households in Argentina spanning from 1995 to 2015, is set to be published in the World Bank Economic Review. Targeted education and social policies could help to prevent educational dropouts.
“After the partner’s job loss, the probability of women being active in the Argentine job market goes up by 15 percentage points. Even among those already employed, the average working time increases by two hours per week,” explains Dr. Guido Neidhöfer, co-author and senior researcher in the “Labour Markets and Social Insurance” Unit at ZEW.
Detrimental effects on employment quality and education
The impact extends beyond mere employment figures, as Matias Ciaschi, co-author and researcher at CEDLAS in Argentina, highlights: “Even if the partners find a new job quickly, the type of employment changes. Overall, more women are taking on low-skilled jobs or end up in informal employment without pension entitlements. This is true even for those who were previously employed in formal or higher-skilled sectors.” Job loss not only affects women, but also has an impact on children’s education. Those living in the household are more likely to participate in the labour market and to dropout from education. Attendance falls by around 15 percentage points. Boys are particularly affected by these dropouts, while the employment of mothers tends to protect girls from leaving school early.
Preventing educational dropouts through unemployment
For Guido Neidhöfer, this presents an opportunity: “Although older children can assume the role of the primary breadwinner, it significantly damages their educational trajectory and human capital in the long run, exacerbating future inequalities. At the same time, this provides a chance to counteract these effects through targeted education and social policies.” Matias Ciaschi explains: “Unemployment insurance can mitigate the negative consequences of job loss in many cases, either entirely or partially. It almost completely prevents educational dropouts. However, since the coverage of such social security schemes encompasses only few Argentine households, the overall societal impact is somewhat limited.” Guido Neidhöfer asserts, “Therefore, an effective social insurance system must particularly target children from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure equal educational opportunities even in times of crisis.”
