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The labour market impact of COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from Ghana

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  • Simone Schotte
  • Michael Danquah
  • Robert Darko Osei
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

In this paper, we provide causal evidence of the impact of stringent lockdown policies on labour market outcomes at both the extensive and intensive margins, using Ghana as a case study. We take advantage of a specific policy setting, in which strict stay-at-home orders were issued and enforced in two spatially delimited areas, bringing Ghana's major metropolitan centres to a standstill, while in the rest of the country less stringent regulations were in place.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Schotte & Michael Danquah & Robert Darko Osei & Kunal Sen, 2021. "The labour market impact of COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-27, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-27
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    10. Kansiime, Monica K. & Tambo, Justice A. & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Kara, Augustine & Owuor, Charles, 2021. "COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Ronak Jain & Joshua Budlender & Rocco Zizzamia & Ihsaan Bassier, 2020. "Locked down and locked out: Repurposing social assistance as emergency relief to informal workers," SALDRU Working Papers 264, Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit, University of Cape Town.
    12. Palacios-Lopez,Amparo & Newhouse,David Locke & Pape,Utz Johann & Khamis,Melanie & Weber,Michael & Prinz,Daniel, 2021. "The Early Labor Market Impacts of COVID-19 in Developing Countries : Evidence from High-Frequency Phone Surveys," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9510, The World Bank.
    13. Michael Danquah & Simone Schotte & Kunal Sen, 2020. "COVID-19 and Employment: Insights from the Sub-Saharan African Experience," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 23-30, October.
    14. Balde, Racky & Boly, Mohamed & Avenyo, Elvis, 2020. "Labour market effects of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: An informality lens from Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal," MERIT Working Papers 2020-022, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
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    Cited by:

    1. Chei Bukari & Millicent Abigail Aning-Agyei & Christian Kyeremeh & Gloria Essilfie & Kofi Fosu Amuquandoh & Anthony Akwesi Owusu & Isaac Christopher Otoo & Kpanja Ibrahim Bukari, 2022. "Effect of COVID-19 on Household Food Insecurity and Poverty: Evidence from Ghana," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(3), pages 991-1015, February.
    2. Lauren Hoehn-Velasco & Adan Silverio-Murillo & Jose Roberto Balmori de la Miyar & Jacob Penglase, 2022. "The impact of the COVID-19 recession on Mexican households: evidence from employment and time use for men, women, and children," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 763-797, September.
    3. Olive Umuhire Nsababera & Vibhuti Mendiratta & Hannah Sam, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Household Welfare in the Comoros: The Experience of a Small Island Developing State," Global Perspectives on Wealth and Distribution, in: Shirley Johnson-Lans (ed.), The Coronavirus Pandemic and Inequality, chapter 0, pages 141-195, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Kathrin Durizzo & Edward Asiedu & Antoinette van der Merwe & Isabel Günther, 2022. "Economic Recovery but Stagnating Mental Health During a Global Pandemic? Evidence from Ghana and South Africa," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 68(2), pages 563-589, June.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Lockdown; Employment; Informality; Ghana;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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