The Gender Gap in Income and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Karina Doorley, Cathal O'Donoghue and Denisa Sologon

No 14360, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: The gender income gap is large and well documented for many countries. Recent research shows that it is mainly driven by differences in working patterns between men and women, but also by wage differences. The tax-benefit system cushions the gender income gap by redistributing between men and women. The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented levels of unemployment in 2020 in many countries, with some suggestion that men and women have been differently affected. This research investigates the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the gender gap in income in Ireland. Using nowcasting techniques and microsimulation, we model the effect of pandemic induced employment and wage changes on market and disposable income. We show how the pandemic and the associated tax-benefit support can be expected to change the income gap between men and women. Policy conclusions are drawn about future redistribution between men and women.

Keywords: tax-benefit system; Ireland; gender inequality; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D31 H23 J16 J31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 32 pages
Date: 2021-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-gen and nep-lma
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Published - published in: Social Sciences , 2022, 11 (7), 311

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