Current Research
List viewEconomists from around the world are using real time data collection to better understand the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on families, workers, firms and society, and how policies can help the recovery out of the crisis. Find out more about how these research teams are carrying out their projects, and what their findings are below.
Covid-19, lockdown and health: the role of air pollution
This paper studies the impact of a prefecture’s lockdown measure in China (Out-side Hubei province), in response to the outbreak of Covid-19, on its air pollution and Covid-19 related health outcomes. In doing that, we use a difference-in-differenc...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Linyuan Huang
Countries
Understanding the rise of domestic violence during the Covid-19 pandemic. Evidence from Spain.
Domestic Violence can have serious negative consequences, with wide-ranging psychological, economic and physical effects for women and children over their lifetimes. Early evidence from most affected countries (China, Italy, Spain) suggests that dome...
Primary Topic: Crime & policing
Lead investigator: Daniel Fernandez-Kranz
Countries
How does the Covid-19 crisis affect access to mental health care? evidence from an audit field experiment in the United States
Crises such as pandemics and recessions increase mental illness and suicidality. Care from mental health professionals (MHPs) such as counselors, therapists, and psychologists, can help people affected by these conditions. However, little is known as...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Patrick Button
Countries
Tracking the economic impact of Covid-19 in Europe and the United States
We use high-frequency indicators available with little or no delay to obtain estimates of the economic impact of Covid-19 in Europe and the United States. We highlight the following findings. (1) Energy usage in Europe suggest that GDP has declined b...
Primary Topic: Recession & recovery
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Sophia Chen
The impact of Covid-19 on consumption and income inequality
The Covid-19 pandemic has had large economic consequences in the US, directly contributing to soaring unemployment and massively depressed demand. Such rapid changes in household economic characteristics can certainly affect earnings, income, and con...
Primary Topic: Recession & recovery
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Loujaina Abdelwahed
Countries
International trade during a pandemic: boon or bane? a structural gravity approach
We empirically estimate the effects of the Corona pandemic on international trade. One hypothesis is that economies with a high degree of trade diversification are less harmed by pandemic-induced disruptions of trade flows. This analysis will give re...
Primary Topic: Trade & supply chains
Secondary Topic: Recession & recovery
Lead investigator: Daniel Osberghaus
Countries
Job search behaviour in the united states during the Covid-19 pandemic
This study examines the effect of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on U.S. job search activity by developing sectoral and state-level job search indices. We document that Covid-19 has a significantly negative effect on job search, and that this eff...
Primary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Wei-Fong Pan
Countries
Gender equality in work and Covid-19 deaths
On average, women comprise a smaller share of deaths from Covid-19. Variation in the share of Covid-19 deaths for women across countries and US States suggests that biological factors cannot fully account for this gender difference. I hypothesize tha...
Primary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Secondary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Lead investigator: Renée Adams
Countries
The impact of shutdown policies on unemployment during a pandemic
We use high-frequency Google search data, combined with data on the announcement dates of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the Covid-19 pandemic in U.S. states, to isolate the impact of NPIs on unemployment in an event-study framework. E...
Primary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Edward Kong
Countries
The effects of working from home on Covid-19 infections and production – a macroeconomic analysis for Germany
We study the impact of confinement on infection risk and on the German economy. We first document that regions whose industry structure allows for a large fraction of work to be done at home also experienced much fewer Covid-19 cases and fatalities. ...
Primary Topic: Business, big & small
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Harald Fadinger
Countries
The effect of shelter-in-place orders on domestic violence
As the coronavirus spreads across the United States, many states have enacted shelter-in-place orders to limit the growth of the pandemic. While these policies are designed to benefit public health, they may have harmful effects upon household welfar...
Primary Topic: Crime & policing
Lead investigator: Jeremy A. Cook
Countries
The short and long run impact of the “great lockdown”: lessons from Italy
This project aims to assess the impact of school and economic lockdowns on short-run outcomes (the spread of the Covid-19 pandemics) and on medium and long-run ones (effect on economic outcomes and school performance) by exploiting heterogeneity in t...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Nicola Borri
Countries
The short-term effect of Covid-19 on employment and wages
In this ongoing project, we examine the short-term consequences of Covid-19 on employment and wages in the united states. Guided by a pre-analysis plan, we document the impact of Covid-19 at the national-level using a simple difference and test wheth...
Primary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Abel Brodeur
Countries
Lost in lockdown? the effect of social distancing and quarantine policies on depression and suicide in Germany
We exploit spatial and temporal variation in mitigation policies to assess how social-distancing and quarantine policies imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany affect anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation. Our empirical approach...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Valentin Klotzbucher
Countries
Internet use and job market sentiment: an early assessment of Covid-19 pandemic shock across the EU
This research project investigates to what extent the widespread of internet access cushioned the job market sentiment during the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The empirical strategy applies a novel regional data set, constructed from the Google...
Primary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Secondary Topic: Attitudes, media & governance
Lead investigator: Marcin Wolski
