Digital development and employment gender gaps during the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Latin America and the Caribbean

Yuanchen Yang, Silvia Granados Ibarra, Manuk Ghazanchyan and Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza

Journal of Internet and Digital Economics, 2024, vol. 5, issue 1, 1-25

Abstract: PurposeDespite its negative effects, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The rapid increase in connectivity and digital services helped mitigate the pandemic's negative impact on the labor markets, especially for those with enough flexibility to continue working from home. The shock affected women due to their household responsibilities and labor market characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines how digital development may have affected gender gaps in employment and job loss in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Using a sample of countries from Latin America and the Caribbean and various econometric techniques, we explore the digitalization gender gaps and job market outcomes during the pandemic.FindingsOur findings suggest that the expansion on digital technologies are associated with increased female employment and reduced job losses for both men and women. These findings hold even after controlling for child care, household chores and the COVID-19 shock. Our results are also robust to various econometric techniques.Originality/valueThe paper leverages on unique dataset that was collected during the pandemic and the results are contrasted with existing macro data with robust results.

Keywords: Digital development; Female employment; Growth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jidepp:jide-02-2024-0005

DOI: 10.1108/JIDE-02-2024-0005

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