IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v313y2022ics0277953622005020.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A natural experiment in social security as public health measure: Experiences of international students as temporary migrant workers during two Covid-19 lockdowns

Author

Listed:
  • Ullah, Faiz
  • Harrigan, Nicholas M.

Abstract

What is the impact of social security on public health? And what mechanisms does it operate through? To answer these questions, we take advantage of the unique circumstances of temporary migrant workers two Covid-19 lockdowns in Australia – one in which they were provided with social security, and one in which they were not. We undertook 47 qualitative interviews with South Asian international students who had lost their jobs in two lockdowns in 2020–2021. In Australia, international students represent the largest group of a growing temporary migration program, with many working in low-skilled occupations, in conditions below legal minimum standards. We compare our findings to two models of social security: the self-insurance model and state-insurance model. In first lockdown, without social security, participants struggled to comply with public health orders because of the need to work for income, lack of housing suitable for isolation, and lack of medical leave. Participants tended to avoid testing, and to work while potentially contagious. Participants reported high levels of anxiety, depression and emotional distress caused by job loss and exclusion from an implicit social contract with the rest of Australian society. In contrast, during the second lockdown, where temporary migrants were provided social security payments, participants reported avoiding risky work, undertook Covid-19 testing many times, and self-isolated successfully. There was little evidence of emotional distress. Participants felt like a valued part of Australian society. These results suggest a self-insurance model of social security does not protect the physical and psychological health of vulnerable populations and can exacerbate the spread of communicable diseases. In contrast, state-insurance and social welfare payments to marginalised communities, particularly unemployment benefits and medical leave, are crucial public health policy levers for both protecting vulnerable populations and tackling outbreaks of communicable diseases such as Covid-19.

Suggested Citation

  • Ullah, Faiz & Harrigan, Nicholas M., 2022. "A natural experiment in social security as public health measure: Experiences of international students as temporary migrant workers during two Covid-19 lockdowns," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:313:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622005020
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115196
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622005020
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115196?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gabriele Giorgi & Luigi Isaia Lecca & Federico Alessio & Georgia Libera Finstad & Giorgia Bondanini & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Giulio Arcangeli & Nicola Mucci, 2020. "COVID-19-Related Mental Health Effects in the Workplace: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-22, October.
    2. Kaisa Kotakorpi & Jani‐Petri Laamanen, 2010. "Welfare State and Life Satisfaction: Evidence from Public Health Care," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 77(307), pages 565-583, July.
    3. Piyasiri Wickramasekara, 2008. "Globalisation, International Labour Migration and the Rights of Migrant Workers," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(7), pages 1247-1264.
    4. Stephen Clibborn & Chris F Wright, 2018. "Employer theft of temporary migrant workers’ wages in Australia: Why has the state failed to act?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 29(2), pages 207-227, June.
    5. Rakesh Chander & Manisha Murugesan & Daniel Ritish & Dinakaran Damodharan & Vikram Arunachalam & Rajani Parthasarathy & Aravind Raj & Manoj Kumar Sharma & Narayana Manjunatha & Suresh Bada Math & Chan, 2021. "Addressing the mental health concerns of migrant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: An experiential account," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(7), pages 826-829, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Michał Błaszczyk & Milan Popović & Karolina Zajdel & Radosław Zajdel, 2022. "The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Organisation of Remote Work in IT Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-14, October.
    2. Paul Dalziel, 2019. "Wellbeing economics in public policy: A distinctive Australasian contribution?," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(4), pages 478-497, December.
    3. Francesco Pace & Giulia Sciotto & Naomi Alexia Randazzo & Vincenza Macaluso, 2022. "Teachers’ Work-Related Well-Being in Times of COVID-19: The Effects of Technostress and Online Teaching," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-10, October.
    4. Clément Cormi & Stéphane Sanchez & Valentine de l’Estoile & Laura Ollivier & Aude Letty & Gilles Berrut & Emmanuel Mulin, 2021. "Telepsychiatry to Provide Mental Health Support to Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Crisis: A Cross-Sectional Survey among 321 Healthcare Professionals in France," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-14, September.
    5. Tom Barratt & Caleb Goods & Alex Veen, 2020. "‘I’m my own boss…’: Active intermediation and ‘entrepreneurial’ worker agency in the Australian gig-economy," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(8), pages 1643-1661, November.
    6. Eiji Yamamura, 2012. "The Effects of Information Asymmetry and Government Size on Happiness: A Case Study from Japan," The IUP Journal of Governance and Public Policy, IUP Publications, vol. 0(1), pages 7-20, March.
    7. Alexander Frank Pasquel Cajas & Verónica Tomasa Cajas Bravo & Roberto Carlos Dávila Morán, 2023. "Remote Work in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-25, February.
    8. Ümİt Acar & Abdullah Tİrgİl, 2023. "Public expenditures and life satisfaction: Evidence from Turkey," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 61(1), pages 36-56, March.
    9. Lauren R. Gullett & Dana M. Alhasan & W. Braxton Jackson & Chandra L. Jackson, 2022. "Employment Industry and Occupational Class in Relation to Serious Psychological Distress in the United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-26, July.
    10. Yingzhu Yang & Lexiang Zhao & Feng Cui, 2022. "How Does Public Health Investment Affect Subjective Well-Being? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Ruixin Su & Bojan Obrenovic & Jianguo Du & Danijela Godinic & Akmal Khudaykulov, 2022. "COVID-19 Pandemic Implications for Corporate Sustainability and Society: A Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-23, January.
    12. Perri Campbell & Erin Wilson & Luke John Howie & Andrew Joyce & Jenny Crosbie & Robyn Eversole, 2024. "The Role of Shared Resilience in Building Employment Pathways with People with a Disability," Disabilities, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-16, January.
    13. Mehran Shayganfard & Fateme Mahdavi & Mohammad Haghighi & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Serge Brand, 2021. "Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    14. Sarah Brown & Alexandros Kontonikas & Alberto Montagnoli & Mirko Moro & Luisanna Onnis, 2018. "Austerity, Life Satisfaction and Expectations," Working Papers 2018001, The University of Sheffield, Department of Economics.
    15. Ariel Herbert Fambeu & Georges Dieudonné Mbondo & Patricia Tchawa Yomi, 2022. "Bigger or better? The effect of public spending on happiness in Africa," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(4), pages 487-499, December.
    16. Andrés Calvache-Mateo & Laura López-López & Javier Martín-Núñez & Alejandro Heredia-Ciuró & María Granados-Santiago & Araceli Ortiz-Rubio & Marie Carmen Valenza, 2023. "Pain and Clinical Presentation: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patients with New-Onset Chronic Pain in Long-COVID-19 Syndrome," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Tanja Laukkala & Jaana Suvisaari & Tom Rosenström & Eero Pukkala & Kristiina Junttila & Henna Haravuori & Katinka Tuisku & Toni Haapa & Pekka Jylhä, 2021. "COVID-19 Pandemic and Helsinki University Hospital Personnel Psychological Well-Being: Six-Month Follow-Up Results," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-9, March.
    18. Michel P. Guillemin, 2021. "New Avenues for Prevention of Work-Related Diseases Linked to Psychosocial Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-12, October.
    19. Thanakrit Jeamjitvibool & Cherdsak Duangchan & Andria Mousa & Wiriya Mahikul, 2022. "The Association between Resilience and Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Ivet Bayes-Marin & Maria Roura-Adserias & Iago Giné-Vázquez & Felipe Villalobos & Marta Franch-Roca & Amanda Lloret-Pineda & Aina Gabarrell-Pascuet & Yuelu He & Rachid El Hafi & Fajar Matloob Ahmed Bu, 2022. "Factors Associated with Depression and Anxiety Symptoms among Migrant Population in Spain during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-14, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:313:y:2022:i:c:s0277953622005020. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.