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KDI 경제교육·정보센터

ENG
  • 경제배움
  • Economic

    Information

    and Education

    Center

국제금융
Publication Bias and P-Hacking in the Effect of COVID-19 on Learning
CEPR
2026.09.21
We revisit a central estimate in the economics of education: the human-capital loss associated with COVID-19 school closures. Estimates of pandemic learning loss may be affected by publication bias, p-hacking, and the mechanical correlation between standardized effect sizes and their standard errors. We conduct a comprehensive multi-method assessment of bias by applying a wide range of correction techniques, including PET-PEESE, three-parameter selection models (3PSM), Robust Bayesian Meta-Analysis (RoBMA), Meta-Analysis Instrumental Variable Estimation (MAIVE), Right-Truncated Meta-Analysis (RTMA), and multi-bias sensitivity analysis. Our preferred specifications, RoBMA and MAIVE, rely on different assumptions yet converge on an effect size of approximately -0.12 SD, equivalent to a learning loss of about 30% of a school year. Although some methods reveal signs of publication bias and selective reporting, these findings do not explain away the central finding: the COVID-19 learning deficit is economically meaningful and statistically robust.