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Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note

Author

Listed:
  • Habibullah, Muzafar

    (Putra Business School 43400 UPM Serdang MALAYSIA)

  • Saari, Mohd Yusof

    (EIS-UPMCS Centre for Future Labour Market Studies Menara PERKESO Putrajaya No. 6, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2, 62100 Putrajaya Wilayah Persekutuan MALAYSIA)

  • Haji Din, Badariah

    (College of Government, Law and International Studies Universiti Utara Malaysia 06010 UUM Sintok Kedah MALAYSIA)

  • Safuan, Sugiharso

    (Graduate Program in Economics Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Indonesia Depok 16424 INDONESIA)

  • Utit, Chakrin

    (School of Business and Economics Universiti Putra Malaysia 43400 UPM Serdang Selangor MALAYSIA)

Abstract

In this empirical note, we examine the relationship between the loss of employment and lockdown measures undertaken by the Malaysian government during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak over the period from 25 January 2020 to 10 September 2020. By using cointegration analysis, our results suggest that there are both long-run and short-run relationships between loss of employment and lockdown measures in Malaysia. Lockdown measures show positive impact on the number of workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The loss of employment increases by 0.35% to 1.1% for every 1% increase in the lockdown measures.

Suggested Citation

  • Habibullah, Muzafar & Saari, Mohd Yusof & Haji Din, Badariah & Safuan, Sugiharso & Utit, Chakrin, 2021. "Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 55(1), pages 39-49.
    • Handle: RePEc:ukm:jlekon:v:55:y:2021:i:1:p:39-49
    DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2021-5501-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Uchiyama, Yosuke & Furuoka, Fumitaka & Md. Akhir, Md. Nasrudin, 2022. "Gig Workers, Social Protection and Labour Market Inequality: Lessons from Malaysia," Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, Faculty of Economics and Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, vol. 56(3), pages 165-184.
    2. Chek. M. Z. A & Ismail. I., 2023. "Retirement Planning Issues, Problems, and Opportunities in Malaysia," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(9), pages 1926-1932, September.
    3. Mohd Yusof Saari & Kabiru Maji Ibrahim & Muzafar Shah Habibullah, 2022. "Assessing the Income Distributional Effect of Lockdowns in Malaysia," Journal of Economic Impact, Science Impact Publishers, vol. 4(1), pages 132-138.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; Malaysia; cointegration; lockdown; loss of employment;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H30 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - General
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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