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Imperatives of recognising the complexities: gendered impacts and responses to COVID-19 in India

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  • Bina Agarwal

    (University of Manchester)

Abstract

This paper argues that the gendered impact of COVID-19 has both visible and hidden dimensions, and both immediate effects linked with lockdowns and longer-term effects that are likely to emerge sequentially in time and affect recovery. Much of the existing feminist literature on the impact of COVID-19 has neglected these complexities and focused mainly on care work and domestic violence. This has diverted attention away from other key concerns such as livelihood loss, food and nutritional insecurity, indebtedness, rising poverty, and the low resilience of most women in developing economies. Even care work and domestic violence have complex facets that tend to be missed. Using examples from India, the paper outlines the kinds of gendered effects we might expect, the extent to which these have been traced in existing surveys, and the data gaps. It also highlights the potential of group approaches in enhancing women’s economic recovery and providing social protection from the worst outcomes of the pandemic—approaches that could guide us towards effective policy pathways for ‘building back better.’

Suggested Citation

  • Bina Agarwal, 2022. "Imperatives of recognising the complexities: gendered impacts and responses to COVID-19 in India," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 39(1), pages 31-53, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:epolit:v:39:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s40888-021-00242-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s40888-021-00242-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Jody Harris & Lutz Depenbusch & Arshad Ahmad Pal & Ramakrishnan Madhavan Nair & Srinivasan Ramasamy, 2020. "Food system disruption: initial livelihood and dietary effects of COVID-19 on vegetable producers in India," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 841-851, August.
    2. Bina Agarwal & Pradeep Panda, 2007. "Toward Freedom from Domestic Violence: The Neglected Obvious," Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 359-388.
    3. Sonalde Desai & Neerad Deshmukh & Santanu Pramanik, 2021. "Precarity in a Time of Uncertainty: Gendered Employment Patterns during the Covid-19 Lockdown in India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1-2), pages 152-172, April.
    4. Bina Agarwal, 1997. "''Bargaining'' and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(1), pages 1-51.
    5. Bina Agarwal & Pervesh Anthwal & Malvika Mahesh, 2021. "How Many and Which Women Own Land in India? Inter-gender and Intra-gender Gaps," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(11), pages 1807-1829, November.
    6. Agarwal, Bina, 2018. "Can group farms outperform individual family farms? Empirical insights from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 57-73.
    7. Deshpande, Ashwini, 2020. "The COVID-19 Pandemic and Gendered Division of Paid and Unpaid Work: Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 13815, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender impact; COVID-19; Direct & indirect effects; Surveys & data gaps; Rural–urban; Building back better; India;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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