The Effectiveness of School Closures and Other Pre-Lockdown COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies in Argentina, Italy, and South Korea

32 Pages Posted: 21 Jul 2020

See all articles by Guido Neidhöfer

Guido Neidhöfer

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research

Claudio Neidhöfer

Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

The rapid spread of COVID-19 forced policy-makers to swiftly find solutions to reduce infection rates and keep mortality as low as possible. Empirical analyses on the effectiveness of control measures are hereby of primary importance. School closures were among the earliest measures enacted by the governments of most countries. However, while schools are now reopening in many countries, the impact of school closures on the course of the epidemic is still an open question. Adopting parametric and non-parametric synthetic control methods we estimate the effectiveness of pro-active school closures, and other early social distancing interventions, in three countries that reacted relatively early during the course of the pandemic. Our findings suggest that these interventions were effective at reducing the mortality rate of COVID-19, especially when enacted early.

Keywords: COVID-19, policy evaluation, school closures, mitigation strategies.

JEL Classification: I18, J18

Suggested Citation

Neidhöfer, Guido and Neidhöfer, Claudio, The Effectiveness of School Closures and Other Pre-Lockdown COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies in Argentina, Italy, and South Korea (2020). ZEW - Centre for European Economic Research Discussion Paper No. 20-034, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3649953 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3649953

Guido Neidhöfer (Contact Author)

ZEW – Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research ( email )

P.O. Box 10 34 43
L 7,1
D-68034 Mannheim, 68034
Germany

Claudio Neidhöfer

Institute of Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, University Hospital Bonn ( email )

Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25
Bonn, 52127
Germany

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