IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/10728.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Lives, Livelihoods, and Learning : A Global Perspective on the Well-Being Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Decerf,Benoit Marie A
  • Friedman,Jed
  • Galego Mendes,Arthur
  • Pennings,Steven Michael
  • Yonzan,Nishant

Abstract

This study compares the magnitude of national level losses that the COVID-19 pandemic inflicted across three critical dimensions: loss of life, loss of income, and loss of learning. The well-being consequences of excess mortality are expressed in years of life lost, while those of income losses and school closures are expressed in additional years spent in poverty (measured by national poverty lines), either currently or in the future. While 2020–21 witnessed a global drop in life expectancy and the largest one-year increase in global poverty in many decades, widespread school closures may cause almost twice as large an increase in future poverty. The estimates of well-being loss for the average global citizen include a loss of 8 days of life, an additional two and half weeks spent in poverty in 2020 and 2021 (17 days), and the possibility of an additional month of life in poverty in the future due to school closures (31 days). Well-being losses are unequally distributed across countries. The typical high-income country suffered the least additional poverty years while low- and low-middle-income countries suffered far higher poverty losses with roughly the same degree of mortality shock as richer countries. Upper-middle income countries experienced the highest mortality shock of all and also high poverty costs. Aggregating total losses requires the valuation of a year of life lost vis-à-vis an additional year spent in poverty. For the wide range of valuations considered, high-income countries experienced the lowest well-being loss. Aggregate losses were much higher among lower-income countries. This is especially true for countries in the Latin America region who suffered the largest mortality costs as well as large losses in learning and sharp increases in poverty.

Suggested Citation

  • Decerf,Benoit Marie A & Friedman,Jed & Galego Mendes,Arthur & Pennings,Steven Michael & Yonzan,Nishant, 2024. "Lives, Livelihoods, and Learning : A Global Perspective on the Well-Being Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10728, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10728
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099537503202413127/pdf/IDU1f944e1ca18e2814ce0198221694a75dd5654.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guido Neidhöfer & Nora Lustig & Mariano Tommasi, 2021. "Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(3), pages 571-598, September.
    2. Remi Jedwab & Paul Romer & Asif M. Islam & Roberto Samaniego, 2023. "Human Capital Accumulation at Work: Estimates for the World and Implications for Development," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 191-223, July.
    3. Filmer, Deon & Rogers, Halsey & Angrist, Noam & Sabarwal, Shwetlena, 2020. "Learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS): Defining a new macro measure of education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Agostinelli, Francesco & Doepke, Matthias & Sorrenti, Giuseppe & Zilibotti, Fabrizio, 2022. "When the great equalizer shuts down: Schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    5. Decerf, Benoit & Ferreira, Francisco H.G. & Mahler, Daniel G. & Sterck, Olivier, 2021. "Lives and livelihoods: Estimates of the global mortality and poverty effects of the Covid-19 pandemic," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    6. William Msemburi & Ariel Karlinsky & Victoria Knutson & Serge Aleshin-Guendel & Somnath Chatterji & Jon Wakefield, 2023. "The WHO estimates of excess mortality associated with the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature, Nature, vol. 613(7942), pages 130-137, January.
    7. Jean-Marie Baland & Guilhem Cassan & Benoit Decerf, 2021. ""Too Young to Die": Deprivation Measures Combining Poverty and Premature Mortality," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(4), pages 226-257, October.
    8. World Bank, 2022. "Poverty and Shared Prosperity 2022," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 37739.
    9. João Pedro & Amer Hasan & Diana Goldemberg & Koen Geven & Syedah Aroob Iqbal, 2021. "Simulating the Potential Impacts of COVID-19 School Closures on Schooling and Learning Outcomes: A Set of Global Estimates [Tackling Inequity in Education during and after COVID-19]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 36(1), pages 1-40.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Decerf,Benoit Marie A, 2024. "Multidimensional Well-Being Measurement Practices : A Review Focused on Improving Global Multidimensional Poverty Indicators," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10800, The World Bank.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nora Lustig & Valentina Martinez Pabon & Guido Neidhöfer & Mariano Tommasi, 2020. "Short and Long-Run Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in Latin America," Working Papers 2013, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    2. Iqbal,Syedah Aroob & Patrinos,Harry Anthony, 2023. "Learning during the Pandemic : Evidence from Uzbekistan," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10474, The World Bank.
    3. Haelermans, Carla & Jacobs, Madelon & van Vugt, Lynn & Aarts, Bas & Abbink, Henry & Smeets, Chayenne & van der Velden, Rolf & van Wetten, Sanne, 2021. "A full year COVID-19 crisis with interrupted learning and two school closures: The effects on learning growth and inequality in primary education," ROA Research Memorandum 009, Maastricht University, Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA).
    4. Carlana, Michela & La Ferrara, Eliana, 2021. "Apart but Connected: Online Tutoring and Student Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic," CEPR Discussion Papers 15761, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Monroy-Gómez-Franco, Luis & Vélez-Grajales, Roberto & López-Calva, Luis F., 2022. "The potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on learnings," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    6. Alderighi, Lorenzo & Ballatore, Rosario M. & Tonello, Marco, 2023. "Hidden drop-out: Secondary education (unseen) failure in pandemic times," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1293, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    7. Narayan,Ambar & Cojocaru,Alexandru & Agrawal,Sarthak & Bundervoet,Tom & Davalos,Maria Eugenia & Garcia,Natalia & Lakner,Christoph & Mahler,Daniel Gerszon & Montalva Talledo,Veronica Sonia & Ten,Andrey, 2022. "COVID-19 and Economic Inequality : Short-Term Impacts with Long-Term Consequences," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9902, The World Bank.
    8. Heidmann, Laure & Neirac, Lucie & Andreu, Sandra & Conceiçao, Pierre & Eteve, Yann & Fabre, Marianne & Vourc'h, Ronan, 2023. "Delayed learning to read and write during the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study of the heterogeneous effects on all first graders in France," SocArXiv qn9a8, Center for Open Science.
    9. Guido Neidhöfer & Nora Lustig & Mariano Tommasi, 2021. "Intergenerational transmission of lockdown consequences: prognosis of the longer-run persistence of COVID-19 in Latin America," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(3), pages 571-598, September.
    10. Marín Llanes, Lucas & Rodríguez Pico, Mariana & Maldonado, Darío & García, Sandra, 2023. "Learning inequality during Covid-19: Evidence from secondary schools in Colombia," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    11. Jessica Bracco & Matías Ciaschi & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Guido Neidhöfer, 2025. "The Impact of COVID‐19 on Education in Latin America: Long‐Run Implications for Poverty and Inequality," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 71(1), February.
    12. Luísa Nazareno & Juliana Castro Galvao, 2023. "The Impact of Conditional Cash Transfers on Poverty, Inequality, and Employment During COVID-19: A Case Study from Brazil," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(2), pages 1-30, April.
    13. Taejong Kim & Hyosun Kim, 2022. "A “Ballpark” Assessment of Social Distancing Efficiency in the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-10, February.
    14. Ciaschi, Matías & Fajardo-Gonzalez, Johanna & Viollaz, Mariana, 2024. "Navigating Educational Disruptions: The Gender Divide in Parental Involvement and Children's Learning Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 16985, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Andrés Ham & Juanita Ruiz & Oscar Iván Pineda-Diaz & Natalia Iriarte-Tovar & Juan Sebastián Cifuentes & María Fernanda Rodríguez-Camacho & Laura Feliza Vélez, 2022. "Promoting in-person attendance for early childhood services after the COVID-19 pandemic using text messages," Documentos de trabajo 20773, Escuela de Gobierno - Universidad de los Andes.
    16. Jean-Marie Baland & Guilhem Cassan & Benoit Decerf, 2021. "The Poverty-Adjusted Life Expectancy index: a consistent aggregation of the quantity and the quality of life," DeFiPP Working Papers 2101, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    17. Székely, Miguel & Flores-Ceceña, Iván & Hevia, Felipe & Calderón, David, 2024. "Measuring learning losses from delayed return to school: Evidence from Mexico," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    18. Shinsuke Asakawa & Fumio Ohtake, 2021. "Impact of Temporary School Closure Due to COVID-19 on the Academic Achievement of Elementary School Students," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 21-14, Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics.
    19. Neidhöfer, Guido & Lustig, Nora & Larroulet, Patricio, 2022. "Nowcasting the impact of COVID-19 on education, intergenerational mobility and earnings inequality in Sub-Saharan Africa," ZEW Discussion Papers 22-022, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    20. Azevedo,Joao Pedro Wagner De & Cojocaru,Alexandru & Montalva Talledo,Veronica Sonia & Narayan,Ambar, 2023. "COVID-19 School Closures, Learning Losses and Intergenerational Mobility," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10381, The World Bank.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:10728. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Roula I. Yazigi (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/dvewbus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.