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Who will Bear the Brunt of Lockdown Policies? Evidence from Tele-workability Measures Across Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Mariya Brussevich
  • Ms. Era Dabla-Norris
  • Salma Khalid

Abstract

Lockdowns imposed around the world to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are having a differential impact on economic activity and jobs. This paper presents a new index of the feasibility to work from home to investigate what types of jobs are most at risk. We estimate that over 97.3 million workers, equivalent to about 15 percent of the workforce, are at high risk of layoffs and furlough across the 35 advanced and emerging countries in our sample. Workers least likely to work remotely tend to be young, without a college education, working for non-standard contracts, employed in smaller firms, and those at the bottom of the earnings distribution, suggesting that the pandemic could exacerbate inequality. Crosscountry heterogeneity in the ability to work remotely reflects differential access to and use of technology, sectoral mix, and labor market selection. Policies should account for demographic and distributional considerations both during the crisis and in its aftermath.

Suggested Citation

  • Mariya Brussevich & Ms. Era Dabla-Norris & Salma Khalid, 2020. "Who will Bear the Brunt of Lockdown Policies? Evidence from Tele-workability Measures Across Countries," IMF Working Papers 2020/088, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2020/088
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    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Can Japan Learn to Work from Home?
      by schiffjerry@gmail.com (Jerry Schiff) in Asia Economics Blog on 2020-07-18 14:09:49

    RePEc Biblio mentions

    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Economic consequences > Employment and Work > Work from home

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Prager, Fynnwin & Rhoads, Mohja & Martínez, Jose N., 2022. "The COVID-19 economic shutdown and the future of flexible workplace practices in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 241-255.
    2. Mirko Licchetta & Giovanni Mattozzi & Rafal Raciborski & Rupert Willis, 2022. "Economic Adjustment in the Euro Area and the United States during the COVID-19 Crisis," European Economy - Discussion Papers 160, Directorate General Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN), European Commission.
    3. Begoña Urien, 2023. "Teleworkability, Preferences for Telework, and Well-Being: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-32, July.
    4. Morikawa, Masayuki, 2021. "Work-from-Home Productivity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Surveys of Employees and Employers," SSPJ Discussion Paper Series DP20-007, Service Sector Productivity in Japan: Determinants and Policies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    5. Lim, King Yoong & Morris, Diego, 2023. "Business optimism and the innovation-profitability nexus: Introducing the COVID-19 adaptable capacity framework," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(1).
    6. Brand, Claus & Obstbaum, Meri & Coenen, Günter & Sondermann, David & Lydon, Reamonn & Ajevskis, Viktors & Hammermann, Felix & Angino, Siria & Hernborg, Nils & Basso, Henrique & Hertweck, Matthias & Bi, 2021. "Employment and the conduct of monetary policy in the euro area," Occasional Paper Series 275, European Central Bank.
    7. A. Cetrulo & D. Guarascio & M. E. Virgillito, 2022. "Working from home and the explosion of enduring divides: income, employment and safety risks," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(2), pages 345-402, July.
    8. Masayuki Morikawa, 2023. "Productivity dynamics of remote work during the COVID‐19 pandemic," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(3), pages 317-331, July.
    9. Kawaguchi, Daiji & Motegi, Hiroyuki, 2021. "Who can work from home? The roles of job tasks and HRM practices," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    10. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2020. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from an Employee Survey," Discussion papers 20073, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    11. Oliver Fiala & Enrique Delamónica & Gerardo Escaroz & Ismael Cid Martinez & José Espinoza-Delgado & Aristide Kielem, 2021. "Children in Monetary Poor Households: Baseline and COVID-19 Impact for 2020 and 2021," Economics of Disasters and Climate Change, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 161-176, July.
    12. Maite Blázquez & Ainhoa Herrarte & Ana I. Moro Egido, 2022. "Gender differences on the labor market transitions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. The role of teleworking," ThE Papers 22/17, Department of Economic Theory and Economic History of the University of Granada..
    13. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2021. "Productivity of Working from Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Panel Data Analysis," Discussion papers 21078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    14. Nora Lustig & Valentina Martinez Pabon & Guido Neidhöfer & Mariano Tommasi, 2020. "Short and Long-Run Distributional Impacts of COVID-19 in Latin America," Working Papers 2013, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    15. Mr. Jose L. Torres, 2020. "Youth Unemployment in Uruguay," IMF Working Papers 2020/281, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Charles M. A. Clark & Aleksandr V. Gevorkyan, 2020. "Artificial Intelligence and Human Flourishing," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 79(4), pages 1307-1344, September.
    17. Ştefan-Alexandru Catană & Sorin-George Toma & Andreea Barbu, 2021. "The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Teleworking and Education in a Romanian Higher Education Institution: An Internal Stakeholders Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(15), pages 1-17, August.
    18. Beňo, Michal, 2022. "Estimating E-workability Components Across Central European Countries," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(3), September.
    19. Wen-Chin Chen & An-Xuan Ngo & Hui-Pin Chang, 2024. "Enhancing Decision-Making Processes in the Complex Landscape of the Taiwanese Electronics Manufacturing Industry through a Fuzzy MCDM Approach," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-29, July.
    20. Masayuki Morikawa, 2022. "Work‐from‐home productivity during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from Japan," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 60(2), pages 508-527, April.
    21. Enesiti Chirume, 2021. "The Effects of Covid-19 on the Financial Sector and the Role of Social Media as an Advertising Tool in these Trying Times in Zimbabwe," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 13(2), pages 8-15.

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