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The Unemployment Impact of Corona Containment Measures in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Bauer, Anja

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany)

  • Weber, Enzo

    (Institute for Employment Research (IAB), Nuremberg, Germany ; Univ. Regensburg)

Abstract

"This paper evaluates the short-term labour market impact of the COVID-19 Containment measures in Germany. We take the closure of economic sectors such as restaurants and retail as a treatment, which enables difference-in-difference estimation. Additionally considering input-output linkages between the sectors, we find that 60 percent of the considerably increased inflows from employment into unemployment in April 2020 were due to the containment measures. In a second approach, we make use of the fact that sector closures and curfews were implemented at different times by the German state governments. In a regional regression setup based on treatment intensity, we find that the hiring margin accounted for additional 82 percent of the unemployment effect coming from the separations margin. In sum, the lockdown measures increased unemployment in the short run by 117,000 persons." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Suggested Citation

  • Bauer, Anja & Weber, Enzo, 2020. "The Unemployment Impact of Corona Containment Measures in Germany," IAB-Discussion Paper 202016, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
    • Handle: RePEc:iab:iabdpa:202016
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    File URL: https://doku.iab.de/discussionpapers/2020/dp1620.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caliendo, Marco & Fedorets, Alexandra & Preuss, Malte & Schröder, Carsten & Wittbrodt, Linda, 2018. "The short-run employment effects of the German minimum wage reform," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 46-62.
    2. David Card, 1992. "Using Regional Variation in Wages to Measure the Effects of the Federal Minimum Wage," Working Papers 680, Princeton University, Department of Economics, Industrial Relations Section..
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Bundesrepublik Deutschland ; Pandemie ; Auswirkungen ; Beschäftigungseffekte ; Betriebsunterbrechung ; Personaleinstellung ; soziale Isolation ; Arbeitslosenquote ; Arbeitslosigkeit ; Zu- und Abgänge ; 2020-2020;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General

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