How COVID-19 pandemic worsens the economic situation of women in South Africa

Margaret Chitiga, Martin Henseler, Ramos Mabugu and Hélène Maisonnave
Additional contact information
Margaret Chitiga: University of Pretoria [South Africa]
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Margaret Mabugu

Working Papers from HAL

Abstract: To contribute towards addressing the problem of relatively few general equilibrium studies focusing on gender impacts of disease pandemics, this paper uses a gendered Computable General Equilibrium model linked to a microsimulation model to study the short run economic effects of COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. A mild and severe scenario is run to represent the pandemic. Findings suggest that while COVID-19 leads to negative economic effects irrespective of scenario, female-headed households bear a disproportionately higher burden of the brunt. Because women tend to be more concentrated in employment in sectors that are hurt the most by COVID-19 response measures as well as that they predominate in unskilled categories, the simulation results show that women suffer disproportionately more from higher unemployment than their male counterparts though the differences are not as pronounced. The poverty outcomes show worsened vulnerability for female-headed households given that, even prior to the pandemic, poverty was already higher amongst women. These results are important in informing evidence-based responses by government to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Computable general equilibrium model; Gender; Poverty; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-10-23
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://normandie-univ.hal.science/hal-02976171v1
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://normandie-univ.hal.science/hal-02976171v1/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: How COVID-19 Pandemic Worsens the Economic Situation of Women in South Africa (2022)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-02976171

DOI: 10.1057/s41287-021-00441-w

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().