This paper shows that during an economic crisis the education sector helps the economy to react to the shock. The decrease in wages reduces the opportunity cost of education, while the decrease in the rental rate of physical capital decreases its marginal product. Therefore, agents invest more in human capital because it is cheaper (therefore more efficient) to do so. Education is less expensive and human capital is more attractive than physical capital. This is especially true for young and low-productivity agents. Since both are less productive at work, they are more likely to substitute work with schooling. These results are empirically