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Essential work and emergency childcare: Identifying gender differences in COVID-19 effects on labour demand and supply

Author

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  • Jordy Meekes

    (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA); The ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course)

  • Wolter H. J. Hassink

    (Utrecht University School of Economics, Utrecht University; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA))

  • Guyonne Kalb

    (Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research, The University of Melbourne; Institute of Labor Economics (IZA); The ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course)

Abstract

We examine whether the COVID-19 crisis affects women and men differently in terms of employment, working hours and hourly wages outcomes, and whether the effects are demand or supply driven. COVID-19 impacts are studied using administrative data on all Dutch employees up to 30 June 2020, focusing on the national lockdown and the emergency childcare for essential workers in the Netherlands. First, we find that the impact of COVID-19 is much larger for non-essential workers than for essential workers. Although, on average, women and men are equally affected, female non-essential workers are more affected than male non-essential workers. Second, partnered individuals with young children are equally affected by the crisis as others, irrespective of gender and spousal employment. Third, singleparent essential workers experience relatively large negative labour supply effects, suggesting emergency childcare was not sufficient for this group. However, overall, labour demand effects appear more important than labour supply effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Jordy Meekes & Wolter H. J. Hassink & Guyonne Kalb, 2020. "Essential work and emergency childcare: Identifying gender differences in COVID-19 effects on labour demand and supply," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2020n24, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2020n24
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Giulia Bettin & Isabella Giorgetti & Stefano Staffolani, 2024. "The impact of Covid-19 lockdown on the gender gap in the Italian labour market," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 1-33, March.
    2. Balgová, Mária & Trenkle, Simon & Zimpelmann, Christian & Pestel, Nico, 2022. "Job search during a pandemic recession: Survey evidence from the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    3. Heather Kolakowski & Mardelle McCuskey Shepley & Ellie Valenzuela-Mendoza & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2021. "How the COVID-19 Pandemic Will Change Workplaces, Healthcare Markets and Healthy Living: An Overview and Assessment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Maria De Paola & Salvatore Lattanzio, 2023. "Parental labor market penalties during two years of COVID-19," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 749, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    5. Christian Zimpelmann & Hans-Martin von Gaudecker & Radost Holler & Lena Janys & Bettina Siflinger, 2021. "Drivers of Working Hours and Household Income Dynamics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the Netherlands," ECONtribute Discussion Papers Series 093, University of Bonn and University of Cologne, Germany.
    6. María del Pilar Toyos, 2022. "Cierre de escuelas en pandemia y brechas de género en Argentina: ¿madres más vulnerables?," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4603, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    7. Titan Alon & Sena Coskun & Matthias Doepke & David Koll & Michèle Tertilt, 2022. "From Mancession to Shecession: Women’s Employment in Regular and Pandemic Recessions," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(1), pages 83-151.
    8. Bettina Siflinger & Michaela Paffenholz & Sebastian Seitz & Moritz Mendel & Hans-Martin von Gaudecker, 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Mental Health: Disentangling Crucial Channels," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2021_271, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.
    9. Issehnane Sabina & Moulin Léonard, 2024. "In the Eye of the Storm: The Disrupted Career Paths of Young People in the Wake of COVID-19," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 24(2), pages 565-596, April.
    10. Leonora Risse & Angela Jackson, 2021. "A gender lens on the workforce impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 24(2), pages 111-144.
    11. Zimpelmann, Christian & Gaudecker, Hans-Martin von & Holler, Radost & Janys, Lena & Siflinger, Bettina, 2021. "Hours and income dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    12. Kalb, Guyonne & Meekes, Jordy, 2024. "Nursing before and after COVID-19: Outflows, Inflows and Self-Employment," IZA Discussion Papers 16772, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Léonard Moulin & Mara Soncin, 2023. "Persistent and Gender-Unequal Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Student Outcomes in Italy," Working Papers 277, French Institute for Demographic Studies.
    14. Paweł Churski & Hanna Kroczak & Marta Łuczak & Olena Shelest-Szumilas & Marcin Woźniak, 2021. "Adaptation Strategies of Migrant Workers from Ukraine during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-24, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Gender; Employment; Hours worked; Lockdown; Essential workers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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