Essays on education and migration

Abstract

This thesis in four chapters focuses on education and migration. The first chapter, joint with Yusuf Agus, studies the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on classroom peer relationships. We use a unique field dataset from 3rd and 4th-grade primary school children in Turkey, including pre-pandemic and pandemic cohorts for this investigation. Our findings show that the pandemic cohort experienced significant changes in their classroom social interactions following an extended school closure. We observe a deterioration in classroom cohesiveness, with a drastic increase in the probability of isolation, a decline in reciprocal relationships among classmates, and an increase in segregation within the classroom. We also highlight notable variations in the effects of the pandemic, with males and refugees experiencing more pronounced impacts. The second chapter, joint with Sule Alan, examines the impact of extended school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s development of abstract reasoning and cognitive empathy. We find that children who experienced prolonged school closures had significantly lower scores in these areas compared to pre-pandemic cohorts, with underprivileged children experiencing more pronounced delays. We also reveal disruptions in socioemotional skills, such as lower grit, emotional empathy, curiosity, and higher impulsivity. Although there was some recovery in abstract reasoning and theory of mind after approximately eight months of school exposure, the measured levels still indicated significant delays. Socioemotional skills, except for curiosity, did not show notable improvements. These findings emphasize the wide-ranging impact of school closures on children’s cognitive and socioemotional development, highlighting the importance of the school environment in fostering these crucial skills. The third chapter studies the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on economic development measured by GDP per capita. The study examines variations in the proportion of refugees across different Turkish provinces after the Syrian Civil War and uses a difference-in-differences methodology to estimate the refugees’ impact on economic development. To address potential selection bias, a two-stage least squares (2SLS) method is employed. The results provide suggestive evidence of a positive medium-term effect and a negative long-term effect of refugee arrivals on economic development, while the short-term effect remains uncertain. However, none of the observed impacts are statistically significant. The fourth chapter, joint with Murat Kirdar and Ivan Lopez Cruz, exploits the impact of Syrian refugees in Turkey, the largest refugee group in any country, on crime rates. While most studies focus on economic migrants in developed countries, this study examines the crime impact of refugees in low-and middle-income countries. Despite the economic challenges faced by Syrian refugees, including poverty, limited job opportunities, and mobility restrictions, the study finds that the total crime per person decreases with the arrival of refugees. This decline applies to various types of crime, except for smuggling, which increases due to the population influx. Additionally, the study shows that the decrease in crime is not attributed to increased security measures, as there is no evidence of changes in the number of armed forces in the regions hosting the refugees.