Labor Economics Journal - Covid Edition

 Remote learning is far from ideal, though as Duke students, our experience is hardly as bad as it actually is for millions trying to learn amidst the pandemic. According to the World Bank, the pandemic has impacted the education of 1.6 billion school children, with school closures and other restrictions severely disrupting normal education. Places with access to technology have shifted to remote learning, but education has ground to a halt in many areas lacking means to build meaningful remote learning. Education is a key factor in productivity, labor supply decisions, and earning, so how will the pandemic's impact on education affect the future labor force? Due to school closures, dropout numbers will rise, productivity will decline, and inequality will worsen. Students may drop out for many reasons. Some must work to help financially support their family, while others just fall behind and give up on school. The UN Children's Fund calculates that the pandemic will induce 24 m...

Bill Gates predicted a couple months ago that over 50% of business travel would be gone forever, replaced with telework platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. His reasoning stands that because companies now have the infrastructure and systems in place to support remote work, business travel will be reserved for only the most critical trips. This shift in traveller composition has enormous ramifications for the travel industry. According to industry group Airlines for America, US airlines generate 50% of their revenue from business travel even though this category accounts for just 30% of trips. The aviation industry has already been decimated by the pandemic, laying off thousands of workers. Consequently, what do these changing business practices mean for the industry's labor market in the long-term? Tempered business travel will cost human capital, worsen job polarization, and trickle down to manufacturers. What makes business travel so lucrative is that firms pay ...