Child poverty and academic skills at the national level: A longitudinal analysis of four waves of PISA.

This article investigates the relationship between child poverty rates and national academic skill levels using longitudinal data from 40 countries participating in four waves (2009–2018) of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Employing two-way fixed-effects models, the study finds that increases in child poverty within nations over time are associated with decreases in average academic skills and increases in the percentage of low-skilled students across reading, math, and science; additionally, higher child poverty correlates with a decline in the percentage of high-skilled students in math only. The findings suggest that child poverty undermines educational outcomes not only through individual-level disadvantages but also via broader societal and school-level mechanisms, affecting both poor and nonpoor students. The study highlights the policy implication that reducing child poverty could lead to meaningful improvements in overall national academic performance, particularly in affluent countries with higher child poverty rates.