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Essential Work: Using A Social Reproduction Lens to Investigate the Re-Organisation of Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Stevano

    (Department of Economics, SOAS University of London)

  • Rosimina Ali

    (Institute of Social and Economic Studies (IESE))

  • Merle Jamieson

    (Department of Economics, SOAS University of London)

Abstract

COVID-19 has shaken a foundational pillar of global capitalism: the organisation of work. Whilst workers have commonly been categorised based on skills, during the pandemic the ‘essential worker’ categorisation has taken prominence. This paper explores the concept of essential work from a global feminist social reproduction perspective. The global perspective is complemented by a zoom-in on Mozambique as a low-income country in the Global South, occupying a peripheral position in global and regional economies and with a large share of vulnerable and essential workers. We show that the meaning of essential work is more ambiguous and politicised than it may appear and, although it can be used as a basis to reclaim the value of socially reproductive work, its transformative potential hinges on the possibility to encompass the most precarious and transnational dimensions of (re)production.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Stevano & Rosimina Ali & Merle Jamieson, 2021. "Essential Work: Using A Social Reproduction Lens to Investigate the Re-Organisation of Work During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Working Papers 241, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK.
    • Handle: RePEc:soa:wpaper:241
    as

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    File URL: https://www.soas.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-10/economics-wp241.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; essential work; social reproduction; dependence; Mozambique;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B54 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Feminist Economics
    • F66 - International Economics - - Economic Impacts of Globalization - - - Labor
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • J60 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - General
    • K31 - Law and Economics - - Other Substantive Areas of Law - - - Labor Law

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