Short and Medium-term Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Work Outcomes of Men and Women: Empirical Evidence from Central Asia

Abstract

This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes of men and women in the case of Central Asia, region with under-established formal institutions, relatively poor social infrastructure, and mostly patriarchal society. These features of Central Asian countries make them different from other developed countries that vast majority of existing literature on COVID-19 pandemic and work outcomes nexus focus on. Findings suggest that medium-term employment level is strongly dependent upon short-term work productivity, with the latter being highly dependent on several explanatory variables, including gender. Further analysis reveal that women-mothers and women working from home-office tend to have lower work productivity as short-term effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn negatively influences women’s medium-term employment level. The paper sheds light on gender-disaggregated situation in the labor market of the country and provides empirical recommendations for decision makers at both government and business levels.