Economics Seminar Series - Andrew Bryce and Mark Bryan

You are invited to a seminar by Andrew Bryce and Mark Bryan on "Segregation, segmentation and disability gaps in the labour market during Covid-19: mental and physical health compared"

We will be holding this Economics Seminar on campus and also will be live streaming via Zoom. Light refreshments will be provided to those who attend on campus.

Please register here to attend on campus.

Please register here to attend online via Zoom

Abstract:

We analyse gaps in employment outcomes between disabled and non-disabled people during the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK. We focus on disabilities related to mental health conditions, comparing them with physical health disabilities. While employment levels were largely protected by the government Job Retention Scheme, there was a substantial widening of gaps in the proportions of men and women temporarily away from work and working reduced hours. Guided by theories of segregation, segmentation, discrimination and cyclical labour demand, we use decomposition techniques to disentangle the roles of differential characteristics and coefficients. The major shares of the gaps can be attributed to coefficients, reflecting unexplained differences in the treatment or behaviour of disabled people. However, characteristics linked to segmentation and segregation play a significant role, which increased during the pandemic. The results suggest that Covid-19 exacerbated the segmentation and segregation of mental health disabled workers, driven by their over-representation in part-time jobs and in caring, leisure and other service occupations; and under-representation in managerial and professional occupations.