Long COVID: The evolution of household welfare in developing countries during the pandemic
利用80个国家300多次电话调查数据，追踪了2020-2021年疫情期间发展中国家就业和收入的演变，发现女性、非正规就业者和低教育群体恢复更慢，且劳动力转向低质量工作，可能加剧中长期不平等。
This study examines household welfare dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic, using harmonized data from over 300 phone surveys in 80 countries during 2020 and 2021, representing more than 2.5 billion people. The analysis traces out the evolution of employment and income across and within countries as restrictions on economic activity were relaxed. We show some groups initially experiencing higher rates of employment loss - including women, informal workers, and those with less education - also recovered jobs at a slower pace. Based on panel regressions, changes in policy stringency were associated with unequal employment outcomes. Labor market transitions were toward jobs of inferior quality on average, especially for workers with less education. Household income dynamics suggest uneven impacts in the intensive margin of employment consistent with these transitions. Lower wages were not offset by additional social assistance. Taken together, these dynamics may amplify the inequality impacts of the pandemic over the medium to long term.