RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Schools as Safety Nets
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 0523-12924R1
DO 10.3368/jhr.0523-12924R1
A1 Larroulet, Pilar
A1 Pailañir, Daniel
A1 Quintana, Daniela
A1 Clarke, Damian
YR 2025
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/early/2025/02/28/jhr.0523-12924R1.abstract
AB Schools are a key channel for formally reporting violence against children, but this channel broke down with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We study how widespread such reporting declines were and to what extent they were recovered once schools reopened. Examining the universe of all criminal reports of violence against children in Chile, we observe sharp declines in reports of all types of violence (psychological, physical, and sexual), and find that full recovery in reporting had not occurred even nearly 2 years following initial school closures. Extending beyond the unexpected and long school closures during the pandemic, we find evidence of clear declines in violence reporting during regular school vacations and in a period of student strikes at the secondary level, suggesting a broader relevance of these results.