The Long Shadow of an Infection: COVID-19 and Performance at Work

Kai Fischer (), J Reade and Wolfgang Schmal
Additional contact information
Kai Fischer: Dusseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE), Heinrich Heine University, Germany

No em-dp2021-17, Economics Discussion Papers from Department of Economics, University of Reading

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused economic shock waves across the globe. Much research addresses direct health implications of an infection, but to date little is known about how this shapes lasting economic effects. This paper estimates the workplace productivity effects of COVID-19 by studying performance of soccer players after an infection. We construct a dataset that encompasses all traceable infections in the elite leagues of Germany and Italy. Relying on a staggered difference-in-differences design, we identify negative short- and longer-run performance effects. Relative to their pre-infection outcomes, infected players’ performance temporarily drops by more than 6%. Over half a year later, it is still around 5% lower. The negative effects appear to have notable spillovers on team performance. We argue that our results could have important implications for labor markets and public health in general. Countries and firms with more infections might face economic disadvantages that exceed the temporary pandemic shock due to potentially long-lasting reductions in productivity.

Keywords: Labor Performance; Economic Costs of COVID-19; Public Health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I18 J24 J44 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2021-08-19
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur, nep-hrm, nep-isf and nep-lma
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

Published in Labour Economics, 2022, 79, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2022.102281

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https://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/economics/emdp202117.pdf

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Working Paper: The long shadow of an infection: COVID-19 and performance at work (2021)
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