Parental Well-Being in Times of Covid-19 in Germany

42 Pages Posted: 4 Aug 2020 Last revised: 26 Nov 2024

See all articles by Mathias Huebener

Mathias Huebener

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Sevrin Waights

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

C. Spiess

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Nico Siegel

Infratest dimap

Gert Wagner

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development

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Abstract

We examine the differential effects of Covid-19 and related restrictions on individuals with dependent children in Germany. We specifically focus on the role of school and day care center closures, which may be regarded as a "disruptive exogenous shock" to family life. We make use of a novel representative survey of parental well-being collected in May and June 2020 in Germany, when schools and day care centers were closed but while other measures had been relaxed and new infections were low. In our descriptive analysis, we compare well-being during this period with a pre-crisis period for different groups. In a difference-in-differences design, we compare the change for individuals with children to the change for individuals without children, accounting for unrelated trends as well as potential survey mode and context effects. We find that the crisis lowered the relative well-being of individuals with children, especially for individuals with young children, for women, and for persons with lower secondary schooling qualifications. Our results suggest that public policy measures taken to contain Covid-19 can have large effects on family well-being, with implications for child development and parental labor market outcomes.

Keywords: well-being, COVID-19, Corona Virus, day care closures, school closures, COMPASS, SOEP

JEL Classification: D1, H12, H75, I2

Suggested Citation

Huebener, Mathias and Waights, Sevrin and Spiess, C. and Siegel, Nico and Wagner, Gert, Parental Well-Being in Times of Covid-19 in Germany. IZA Discussion Paper No. 13556, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3665116

Mathias Huebener (Contact Author)

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Sevrin Waights

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) ( email )

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

C. Spiess

German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin)

Mohrenstraße 58
Berlin, 10117
Germany

Nico Siegel

Infratest dimap ( email )

Moosdorfstrasse 7-9
Berlin, 12435
Germany

Gert Wagner

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Human Development ( email )

Lentzeallee 94
D-14195 Berlin, 14195
Germany

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