Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Ishaan Bansal
Author-Name-First: Ishaan
Author-Name-Last: Bansal
Author-Email: ishaan.bansal@idinsight.org
Author-Workplace-Name: IDInsight
Title: COVID-19, Income Shocks and Female Employment
Abstract: Existing evidence shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has led to employed women witnessing larger losses in the labor market in India. We examine the heterogeneity that underlie these trends by studying the impact of Covid-19 induced income shocks on female employment. Using individual level panel data and a difference-in-differences strategy that exploits lockdown timing (April 2020) and accounts for seasonal employment trends, we find that women in households facing a hundred percent reduction in household male income during the lockdown were 1.5 pp (25%) more likely to take up work during the "unlockdown" months (June-August 2020). We also find these results to be predominant in poorer and less educated households. However, these positive employment trends are only transitory in nature with a reversal in female employment in these households from September 2020 onwards. These findings underscore the use of women's labor as insurance during low-income periods by poorer households. 
length: 33
Creation-Date: 20211105
Revision-Date: 
Publication-Status: Published
File-URL: https://dp.ashoka.edu.in/ash/wpaper/paper71_0.pdf
File-Format: Application/pdf 
Number: 71
Handle: RePEc:ash:wpaper:71