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Working from Home in European Countries before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

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  • Vahagn Jerbashian
  • Montserrat Vilalta-Bufí

Abstract

We use data from the EU Labour Force Survey for 8 countries and document the levels of working from home in the sample countries, industries, and occupations in the 2011-2019 period and its changes in 2020, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic started. We show that there are significant differences in working from home across countries, industries, and occupations and that working from home has increased almost everywhere in the 2011-2019 period and more significantly in 2020. Countries that had the lowest levels of working from home in 2019 enacted the most stringent stay-home and workplace closure policies and experienced the largest growth rates in working from home in 2020. Finally, we compute a measure of working from home capacity for the sample countries using the observed working from home levels.

Suggested Citation

  • Vahagn Jerbashian & Montserrat Vilalta-Bufí, 2022. "Working from Home in European Countries before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 9932, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9932
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J23 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Demand
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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