Mobility under the COVID-19 Pandemic: Asymmetric Effects across Gender and Age
IMF Working Papers, December 11, 2020
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- Mobility under the COVID-19 Pandemic: Asymmetric Effects across Gender and Age
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Bibliographic details
- Authors: Francesca Caselli, Francesco Grigoli, Damiano Sandri, Antonio Spilimbergo
- Published: December 11, 2020
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513563961.001
Key findings
- Lockdowns and voluntary social distancing led to significant reduction in people’s mobility.
- Using anonymized and aggregate mobility data provided by Vodafone for Italy, Portugal, and Spain, the study finds that lockdowns had a larger impact on the mobility of women and younger cohorts.
- Younger people experienced a sharper drop in mobility in response to rising COVID-19 infections.
- Results are consistent across estimation methods and robust to a variety of tests.
- The evidence warns about a possible widening of gender and inter-generational inequality.
Data and scope
- Data source: anonymized and aggregate mobility indicators provided by Vodafone.
- Countries covered: Italy, Portugal, and Spain.
- Publication type: IMF Working Paper (Working Paper No. 2020/282).
- Pages: 32.
- Volume: 2020.
- Issue: 282.
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513563961.001
- ISBN: 9781513563961
- ISSN: 1018-5941
Authors and publication details
- By Francesca Caselli, Francesco Grigoli, Damiano Sandri, Antonio Spilimbergo
- Publication date: December 11, 2020
Policy implications and recommendations
- Findings provide important inputs for the formulation of targeted policies aimed at addressing:
- Potential widening of gender inequality due to disproportionately larger mobility reductions for women.
- Potential widening of inter-generational inequality given the sharper mobility declines among younger cohorts.
- Targeted policy responses could consider heterogeneous mobility impacts when designing public health measures, labor market support, and social protection to mitigate unequal effects across gender and age groups.
IMF Working Paper — "Mobility under the COVID-19 Pandemic: Asymmetric Effects across Gender and Age", Working Paper No. 2020/282, December 11, 2020.
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- Working Paper