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Jobs’ amenability is not enough: The role of household inputs for safe work under social distancing in Latin American cities

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  • Berniell, Lucila
  • Fernandez, Daniel

Abstract

The recent literature has emphasized the role of occupations in quantifying the amount of telework possible under social distancing measures during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, telework requires not only a teleworkable occupation but also household inputs related to basic infrastructure (internet connection and other housing services) and time availability. We use a recent household survey that includes rich information for large urban areas in 11 Latin American countries and we find that these household inputs are not available for more vulnerable workers. This introduces additional sources of inequality in the possibility of working from home, aside from those imposed by occupations, as well as reinforces the association between economic development and the share of teleworkable jobs. We also analyze the profiles of workers in high personal-proximity jobs, which imply a higher exposure to the virus, and we find important additional sources of inequality. In particular, workers in jobs with higher exposure to the coronavirus also have other health risks, implying that this type of inequality should be carefully taken into account when designing deconfinement measures.

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  • Berniell, Lucila & Fernandez, Daniel, 2021. "Jobs’ amenability is not enough: The role of household inputs for safe work under social distancing in Latin American cities," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:140:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x20303740
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105247
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    1. Inés Berniell & Leonardo Gasparini & Mariana Marchionni & Mariana Viollaz, 2023. "The role of children and work-from-home in gender labor market asymmetries: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1191-1214, December.
    2. María del Pilar Toyos, 2022. "Cierre de escuelas en pandemia y brechas de género en Argentina: ¿madres más vulnerables?," Asociación Argentina de Economía Política: Working Papers 4603, Asociación Argentina de Economía Política.
    3. Kosteas, Vasilios D. & Renna, Francesco & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2022. "Covid-19 and Working from Home: toward a "new normal"?," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1013, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Shawana Fazal & Sobia Masood & Farrukh Nazir & Muhammad Iqbal Majoka, 2022. "Individual and Organizational Strategies for Promoting Work–Life Balance for Sustainable Workforce: A Systematic Literature Review from Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-33, September.

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