How did COVID-19 affect the labor force participation of older workers in the first year of the pandemic?

Article Economics

The evolving impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender inequality in the US labor market: The COVID motherhood penalty

Kenneth A. Couch et al.

Summary: This study explores the gender disparities in the labor market caused by COVID-19. The findings indicate that the employment-to-population ratio and hours worked gaps between men and women with school-age children have increased, while those with younger children have not been affected. The observed reductions for women with school-age children are attributed to additional childcare responsibilities. Women were found to have a higher likelihood of teleworking, higher education levels, and less impacted occupational distribution, which helped mitigate the negative impacts compared to men.

ECONOMIC INQUIRY (2022)

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Article Demography

Determinants of Disparities in Early COVID-19 Job Losses

Laura Montenovo et al.

Summary: This study examines the sociodemographic divide in early labor market responses to the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic. It reveals that employment losses in the early COVID-19 recession were smaller for groups with low or high education levels compared to previous recessions. The study also finds that job loss was greater in occupations that require more interpersonal contact and cannot be performed remotely. Pre-COVID-19 sorting of workers into occupations and industries along demographic lines explains a portion of the demographic gaps in new unemployment. Gender differences in employment losses can partly be explained by women's pre-epidemic sorting into occupations compatible with remote work.

DEMOGRAPHY (2022)

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Article Economics

From Mancession to Shecession: Women's Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions

Titan Alon et al.

NBER MACROECONOMICS ANNUAL (2022)

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Article Economics

Effects of the COVID-19 Recession on the US Labor Market: Occupation, Family, and Gender

Stefania Albanesi et al.

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES (2021)

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Article Economics

Which workers bear the burden of social distancing?

Simon Mongey et al.

Summary: The study utilized data from O*NET to construct two measures evaluating the potential exposure of different occupations to social distancing measures. It found that workers in low-work-from-home and high-physical-proximity jobs are more economically vulnerable and experienced greater declines in employment during the pandemic.

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY (2021)

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Article Economics

Fear, lockdown, and diversion: Comparing drivers of pandemic economic decline 2020

Austan Goolsbee et al.

Summary: The economic collapse in 2020 due to COVID-19 was mainly driven by individual consumer choices rather than government-imposed restrictions. Consumers voluntarily reduced outings due to fear of infection, shifting towards smaller and less crowded stores. Legal shutdown orders accounted for only a small portion of the massive changes in consumer behavior, with individual choices playing a far more significant role.

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC ECONOMICS (2021)

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Article Economics