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COVID-19, Income Shocks and Female Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Ishaan Bansal

    (IDInsight)

  • Kanika Mahajan

    (Ashoka University)

Abstract

Existing evidence shows that the Covid-19 pandemic led to larger employment losses for working women in India. We examine the heterogeneity that underlies these trends by studying the impact of income shocks due to Covid-19 induced national lockdown (April-May 2020) on female employment. Using individual-level panel data and a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits the imposition of the national lockdown and accounts for seasonal employment trends, we find that women in households facing a hundred percent reduction in male income during the lockdown were 1.57 pp (27%) more likely to take up work after the restrictions eased (June-August 2020). We find these results to be predominant in poorer and less educated households. However, these positive employment trends are largely transitory as the effect on female employment reduces to 13% in these households during September-December 2020. These findings underscore the use of women’s labor as insurance during low-income periods by poorer households.

Suggested Citation

  • Ishaan Bansal & Kanika Mahajan, 2021. "COVID-19, Income Shocks and Female Employment," Working Papers 69, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ash:wpaper:69
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    File URL: https://dp.ashoka.edu.in/ash/wpaper/paper69_0.pdf
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