Who will bear the Brunt of Lockdown Policies? Evidence from Tele-workability Measures across Countries
Lockdowns imposed around the world to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are having a differential impact on economic activity and jobs. In 35 advanced and emerging counties, an estimated 97.3 million workers, about 15 percent of the workforce, are at high risk of layoffs and furlough. In this paper by the
IMF, Mariya Brussevich, Salma Khalid
et al present an index of the feasibility of working from home to investigate what jobs are most at risk. Workers least likely to work remotely tend to be young, without a college education, working on non-standard contracts, employed in smaller firms, and at the bottom of the earnings distribution. This suggests that the pandemic could exacerbate inequality.
https://www.imf.org/~/media/Files/Publications/WP/2020/English/wpiea2020088-print-pdf.ashx
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