https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w26948/w26948.pdf

How many jobs can be done at home

The so-called “gig-economy” has been growing exponentially in numbers and importance in recent years but its impact on labour rights has been largely overlooked. Forms of work in the “gig-economy” include “crowdwork”, and “work-on-demand via apps”, under which the demand and supply of working activities is matched online or via mobile apps. These forms of work can provide a good match of job opportunities and allow flexible working schedules. However, they can also pave the way to a severe commodification of work. This paper discusses the implications of this commodification and advocates the full recognition of activities in the gig-economy as “work”.

/pdf/the-rise-of-the-just-in-time-workforce-on-demand-work-3z74p8d84v.pdf

The rise of the 'just-in-time workforce': On-demand work, crowdwork and labour protection in the 'gig-economy'

Suspension of face-to-face instruction in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to concerns about consequences for students' learning. So far, data to study this question have been limited. Here we evaluate the effect of school closures on primary school performance using exceptionally rich data from The Netherlands (n ≈ 350,000). We use the fact that national examinations took place before and after lockdown and compare progress during this period to the same period in the 3 previous years. The Netherlands underwent only a relatively short lockdown (8 wk) and features an equitable system of school funding and the world's highest rate of broadband access. Still, our results reveal a learning loss of about 3 percentile points or 0.08 standard deviations. The effect is equivalent to one-fifth of a school year, the same period that schools remained closed. Losses are up to 60% larger among students from less-educated homes, confirming worries about the uneven toll of the pandemic on children and families. Investigating mechanisms, we find that most of the effect reflects the cumulative impact of knowledge learned rather than transitory influences on the day of testing. Results remain robust when balancing on the estimated propensity of treatment and using maximum-entropy weights or with fixed-effects specifications that compare students within the same school and family. The findings imply that students made little or no progress while learning from home and suggest losses even larger in countries with weaker infrastructure or longer school closures.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/118/17/e2022376118.full.pdf

Learning loss due to school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper brings together evidence from various data sources and the most recent studies to describe what we know so far about the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on inequalities across several key domains of life, including employment and ability to earn, family life and health We show how these new fissures interact with existing inequalities along various key dimensions, including socio-economic status, education, age, gender, ethnicity and geography We find that the deep underlying inequalities and policy challenges that we already had are crucial in understanding the complex impacts of the pandemic itself and our response to it, and that the crisis does in itself have the potential to exacerbate some of these pre-existing inequalities fairly directly Moreover, it seems likely that the current crisis will leave legacies that will impact inequalities in the long term These possibilities are not all disequalising, but many are

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1475-5890.12232

COVID-19 and Inequalities.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses a great challenge for contemporary public transportation worldwide, resulting from an unprecedented decline in demand and revenue In this paper, the authors synthesize the state-of-the-art, up to early June 2020, on key developments regarding public transportation and the COVID-19 pandemic, including the different responses adopted by governments and public transportation agencies around the world, and the research needs pertaining to critical issues that minimize contagion risk in public transportation in the so-called post-lockdown phase While attempts at adherence to physical distancing (which challenges the very concept of mass public transportation) are looming in several countries, the latest research shows that for closed environments such as public transportation vehicles, the proper use of face masks has significantly reduced the probability of contagion The economic and social effects of the COVID-19 outbreak in public transportation extend beyond service performance and health risks to financial viability, social equity, and sustainable mobility There is a risk that if the public transportation sector is perceived as poorly transitioning to post-pandemic conditions, that viewing public transportation as unhealthy will gain ground and might be sustained To this end, this paper identifies the research needs and outlines a research agenda for the public health implications of alternative strategies and scenarios, specifically measures to reduce crowding in public transportation The paper provides an overview and an outlook for transit policy makers, planners, and researchers to map the state-of-affairs and research needs related to the impacts of the pandemic crisis on public transportation Some research needs require urgent attention given what is ultimately at stake in several countries: restoring the ability of public transportation systems to fulfill their societal role

/pdf/covid-19-and-public-transportation-current-assessment-17myu7ou8z.pdf

COVID-19 and Public Transportation: Current Assessment, Prospects, and Research Needs

https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/189496/1/dp13183.pdf

Inequality in the impact of the coronavirus shock: Evidence from real time surveys

Consideration set models relax the assumption that consumers are aware of all available options. Thus far, identification arguments for these models have relied either on auxiliary data on what options were considered or on instruments excluded from consideration or utility. In a discrete choice framework subsuming logit, probit and random coefficients models, we prove that utility and consideration set probabilities can be separately identified without these data intensive methods. In full-consideration models, choice probabilities satisfy a symmetry property analogous to Slutsky symmetry in continuous choice models. This symmetry breaks down in consideration set models when changes in characteristics perturb consideration, and we show that consideration probabilities are constructively identified from the resulting asymmetries. In a lab experiment, we recover preferences and consideration probabilities using only data on which items were ultimately chosen, and we apply the model to study hotel choices on Expedia.com and insurance choices in Medicare Part D.

What Do Consumers Consider Before They Choose? Identification from Asymmetric Demand Responses

Debates on the gender pay gap have often focused on discrimination by employers, whether explicit or implicit, and the subsequent implications for men and women’s pay in the workplace. We use data from an online crowdworking platform, where workers’ sex is unknown to the employer, to assess whether there is a gender pay gap among crowdworkers. Despite employers not knowing the gender of the workers, the data nonetheless reveal a gender pay gap, with women earning on average 82% of what men earned. Nevertheless, further analysis of the data reveal that the earnings gap between men and women can largely be explained by the individual characteristics of the worker (crowdworking experience and educational level) and women’s domestic responsibilities. 
Thus even in the absence of employer discrimination, domestic responsibilities that are overwhelmingly shouldered by women affect how they carry out their work and thus what they can earn. This finding points to a need to institute policies that address the sexual division of labour in the household, such as parental leave policies, as well as the public provision of childcare and elder care services to ease the burden of individual care responsibilities. In addition, crowdwork is currently not regulated by labour law which is affecting the overall level of earnings and working conditions of crowdworkers.

When Home Affects Pay: An Analysis of the Gender Pay Gap Among Crowdworkers

We present real time survey evidence from the UK, US and Germany showing that the labor market impacts of COVID-19 differ considerably across countries. Employees in Germany, which has a well-established short-time work scheme, are substantially less likely to be affected by the crisis. Within countries, the impacts are highly unequal and exacerbate existing inequalities. Workers in alternative work arrangements and in occupations in which only a small share of tasks can be done from home are more likely to have reduced their hours, lost their jobs and suffered falls in earnings. Less educated workers and women are more affected by the crisis.

Abi Adams-Prassl

Papers

Inequality in the impact of the coronavirus shock: Evidence from real time surveys

What Do Consumers Consider Before They Choose? Identification from Asymmetric Demand Responses

When Home Affects Pay: An Analysis of the Gender Pay Gap Among Crowdworkers

Inequality in the Impact of the Coronavirus Shock: Evidence from Real Time Surveys

Work that can be done from home: Evidence on variation within and across occupations and industries