## Pandemic Scars May be Twice as Deep for Students in Developing Countries

_IMF Blog, February 3, 2022_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Pandemic Scars May be Twice as Deep for Students in Developing Countries](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2022/02/03/pandemic-scars-may-be-twice-as-deep-for-students-in-developing-countries)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2022/02/03/pandemic-scars-may-be-twice-as-deep-for-students-in-developing-countries/index.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/en/blogs/articles/2022/02/03/pandemic-scars-may-be-twice-as-deep-for-students-in-developing-countries/index.json)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Ruchir Agarwal
- Published: February 3, 2022

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### Overview
- The analysis focuses on students ages 5 to 19, who make up about a quarter of the world’s population.
- More than two years into the crisis, schools remain closed for millions worldwide, with many more shuttered again by the highly transmissible Omicron variant.
- Learning losses and school-closure durations have been highly unequal across country groups.

### Key findings on schooling and learning losses
- School closures in the first two years of the pandemic lasted roughly twice as long in developing countries compared with advanced economies.
- The share of those at school age in developing countries is nearly double that of advanced economies, magnifying the adverse impact.
- The IMF’s April Fiscal Monitor estimates that education losses from classroom closures by the end of 2020 amounted to:
  - as much as a quarter of the school year in advanced economies, and
  - up to half in emerging and developing economies.
- The unequal learning losses across countries persisted through October (as shown in the Chart of the Week).

### Labor-market and long-term economic consequences
- Graduates entering weak labor markets face weaker employment and wage prospects; experience from the Great Recession of 2007-09 illustrates this effect.
- The IMF’s October World Economic Outlook found that the labor market outlook for low-skilled workers and youth remains relatively bleak compared with other groups.
- Together, learning losses, lower productivity, and employment disruptions may have economic consequences for decades.
- Pandemic-era students could sacrifice as much as $17 trillion in lifetime earnings, according to a recent report by the United Nations and the World Bank.

### Policy implications and recommendations
- The economic crunch will not end until the health crisis is controlled everywhere, per the IMF’s pandemic proposal.
- Policymakers should keep their focus on severely strained social safety nets and health care and education services, as highlighted in the Fiscal Monitor.

*IMF Blog — Ruchir Agarwal, February 3, 2022*

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## Content in this bundle

- **World Bank Document**
  - [World Bank Document (Markdown version)](/curated/en/416991638768297704/pdf/The-State-of-the-Global-Education-Crisis-A-Path-to-Recovery.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [World Bank Document (PDF)](/curated/en/416991638768297704/pdf/The-State-of-the-Global-Education-Crisis-A-Path-to-Recovery.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf;charset=utf-8"}
- **Staff Discussion Note**
  - [Staff Discussion Note (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/sdn/2021/english/sdnea2021004.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"}
  - [Staff Discussion Note (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/sdn/2021/english/sdnea2021004.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"}

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/COTW-School-Closures.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/COTW-School-Closures.png)
- [Fiscal Monitor](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/FM/Issues/2021/03/29/fiscal-monitor-april-2021)
- [World Economic Outlook](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2021/10/12/world-economic-outlook-october-2021)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2022/02/03/pandemic-scars-may-be-twice-as-deep-for-students-in-developing-countries_