Dra. Kairon Shayne D. Garcia

PhD in Economics

Dr. Kairon Shayne D. Garcia is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Economics at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). She earned her PhD in Economics from Washington State University (WSU), and her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Economics from the University of the Philippines.

Kai’s areas of interest are applied microeconomics and econometrics, with a particular focus on causal inference in labor economics, economics of education, and development economics. Her recent work has centered on evaluating the impact of COVID-19 school closures on parental labor market outcomes and school outcomes of high school and college students. Currently, she is working on investigating the impact of politics and policy on remote work in the US, the effect of climate change adaptation on firm’s labor and productivity, and the role of lobbying and environmental regulatory stringency faced by firms in select European countries.

Before joining CSULB, Kai taught a range of undergraduate courses in various formats, including Fundamentals of Microeconomics and Fundamentals of Macroeconomics, advanced courses on Industrial Organization and Labor Economics, and a Master’s-level Managerial Economics course for MBA students at WSU. She was honored with the WSU School of Economic Sciences Excellence in Teaching Award in 2023.

Kai’s professional background includes roles as a research consultant at the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank – Philippines, as well as serving as an Economic Development Specialist at the National Economic and Development Authority in the Philippines. Outside of work, she enjoys leisure reading, watching her favorite shows, and spending quality time with family and friends. She’s also excited about exploring California and making new connections along the way!

Dissertation

Three Essays on the Impact of School Closures in Years 2020-21 on Parents and Children

Kai's dissertation is a series of papers that study the effects of school closures in years 2020-21 on parental labor-market outcomes and educational outcomes of secondary and post-secondary students. The first chapter shows that k-12 school and childcare facility closures affect both the mothers and fathers of pre-school and school-age children through a reduction in their work hours, and in some cases earnings. These effects are concentrated among parents without a college degree, parents working in occupations that do not lend themselves to telework, and parents without other family members living at home. The second chapter finds that while high school graduation rates remained stable when schools closed, math proficiency rates suffered, particularly among vulnerable student groups, whereas reading/language and arts proficiency rates saw some improvements. The third chapter shows that university and college closures, coupled with social distancing mandates, led to a decline in both overall and in-state enrollments, with out-of-state enrollments also diminishing in some instances.

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