Abstract
BackgroundThe vulnerability approach suggests that disasters such as epidemics have different effects according not only to physical vulnerability but also to economic class (status). This paper examines the effect of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome epidemic on the labor market to investigate whether vulnerable groups become more vulnerable due to an interaction between the socio-economic structure and physical risk.MethodsThis paper examines the effect of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome epidemic on the labor market by considering unemployment status, job status, working hours, reason for unemployment and underemployment status. In particular, the study investigates whether the U-shaped curve becomes a J-shaped curve due to the interaction between medical vulnerability and labor market vulnerability after an outbreak, assuming that the relative vulnerability in the labor market by age shows a U curve with peaks for the young group and middle aged and old aged groups using the Economically Active Population Survey. We use the difference in difference approach and also conduct a falsification check and robustness check.ResultsThe results suggest that older workers faced a higher possibility of unemployment after the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak. In particular, they experienced higher involuntary unemployment and underemployment status as well as decreased working hours. It was confirmed that the relative vulnerability of the labor market for older workers was higher than for the other age groups after the epidemic outbreak due to the double whammy of vulnerability in the medical and labor market. The vulnerability in the young group partially increased compared to the 30s and 40s age groups due to their relative vulnerability in the labor market despite being healthy. We find that assuming the relative vulnerability in the existing labor market shows a U shape with age increase, the U-shaped curve became J-shaped after the outbreak.ConclusionsDisasters like epidemics can occur unexpectedly and affect certain groups more than other. Therefore, medical protection should be enhanced for groups vulnerable to disease and economic measures are also required for the protection of their livelihoods in the labor market to prevent unemployment stemming from inequality.
Highlights
The vulnerability approach suggests that disasters such as epidemics have different effects according to physical vulnerability and to economic class
The study investigates whether the medical vulnerable group of people over 50s experienced adverse effects in the labor market compared to their counterparts aged between 15 and 49
The unemployment status shows that the probability of unemployment for over 50s increased by about 17.18% compared to the other groups, ceteris paribus
Summary
The vulnerability approach suggests that disasters such as epidemics have different effects according to physical vulnerability and to economic class (status). This paper examines the effect of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome epidemic on the labor market to investigate whether vulnerable groups become more vulnerable due to an interaction between the socio-economic structure and physical risk. The bank announced that the main reason for the interest rate cut was sluggish economic recovery and a larger than expect impact from MERS on the economy, raising concerns about the worsened economic situation. Such events showed that MERS strongly affected the Korean economy [1]. It can be estimated that the impact of MERS on the Korean labor market was very large despite the low incidence and mortality rate
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
