Abstract.Day3.Mutegi

The Effect of Covid-19 Lockdown on Unpaid Work in Kenya

Reuben Mutegi, Moses Muriithi, and Germano Mwabu

The government containment measures implemented to help slow spread of Covid-19 have had an unprecedented effect on labour markets, affecting millions of workers and businesses worldwide, Kenya included. Most countries used border closures, partial or complete economic lockdowns, and curfews in an effort to slow the spread of the pandemic, resulting in closure of businesses, schools, and social services, some of which never reopened after it ended. Many people were forced to stay indoors due to the lockdown and curfews. These restrictions may have affected the number of hours spent on unpaid work by individuals in households. This paper investigates the extent effect of COVID-19 lockdown on the number of hours spent on unpaid work by individuals disaggregated by gender controlling for age, education, and area of residence, and occupation. the paper uses Kenya Life Panel Data and World Bank data on Covid 19 collected in 2020 and 2021 by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the World Bank.