Abstract
This study examines changes in labor supply, income, and time allocation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Using an event-study design, we show that the COVID-19 recession had severe negative consequences for Mexican households. In the first month of the pandemic, employment declined by 17 percentage points. Men recovered their employment faster than women, where men’s employment approaches original levels by 2021Q2. Women, on the other hand, experienced persistent employment losses. Within-household, men also increased their time spent on household chores while neither gender (persistently) increased their time caring for others. Instead, children reduced their time spent on schoolwork by 25%.
Highlights
The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe
These findings suggest that women in high-income states reallocate their time toward caring for others, potentially reflecting distinct labor supply norms
We show the severity of the COVID-19 recession for all adults in Table 2, with women in Panel A and men in Panel B
Summary
The economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic have been severe. In addition to death and illness, households have been burdened by shuttered. In addition to labor supply, the ENOE provides information on household time use, including time spent caring for others and time allocated toward household chores. In all three specifications and across all individuals, the COVID-19 pandemic reduced employment and income, with little impact on adult household time, except for an increase in men’s time spent on household chores. We estimate changes in household time allocation In both the traditional ENOE and the ETOE, men reallocate their time to household chores, but not toward time spent caring for others. Women do not change their time use across household chores or caring for others (including children). Because Mexico’s public education transitioned to television and online learning (for certain schools) during the pandemic, children may have shifted their time use from school to educational programming (Córdoba and Montes, 2020, Rivers and Gallón, 2020).
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