Research Note: Gender Differences in Employment During the COVID-19 Epidemic

We investigate the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on gender disparities in three employment outcomes: labor force participation, full-time employment, and unemployment. Using data from the monthly Current Population Survey, in this research note we test individual fixed-effects models to examine the employment status of women relative to that of men in the nine months following the onset of the epidemic in March of 2020. We also test separate models to examine differences between women and men based on the presence of young children. Because the economic effects of the epidemic coincided with the summer months, when women's employment often declines, we account for seasonality in women's employment status. After doing so, we find that women's full-time employment did not decline significantly relative to that of men during the months following the beginning of the epidemic. Gender gaps in unemployment and labor force participation did increase, however, in the early and later months of the year, respectively. Our findings regarding women's labor force participation and employment have implications for our understanding of the long-term effects of the health crisis on other demographic outcomes.

Overview of Manually Operated Paddy Transplanter

Agriculture is the most important sector in the Indian economy. It is the most important source of employment for most of the country’s labor force. In 2012, about 49% of the labor force was engaged in agriculture. The highest proportion of these is in the rice sector. Rice is the country’s main stable food. The release of labor to sectors other than agriculture is important to the development of the country. The mechanization of rice fields has played an important role in liberating labor. Feeding a growing population is a huge challenge. The import of rice will cause the country’s economy to drain. The mechanization of the rice sector will lead to higher productivity and release labor to other sectors. The goal of the project is to design a rice transplanting mechanism for small farmers in the country to transplant rice seedlings.

The Health Status of Labor Force in East Kalimantan Province: Effect of Individual Characteristics and Household Conditions

The aims of this research are first, to explore the factors that are associated with health status. Second, to address the individual characteristics and household conditions that affect the health status of labor force, taking into account the urban-rural differences. This research utilized data from SUSENAS Cor 2018, and employed a cross sectional - multinomial logistic regression analysis method. The dependent variable is the health conditions of the labor force. The findings show that, age and number of household members were significant for both sick and very sick health status in all two type of areas analyzed. In urban and rural areas simultaneously gender, expenditure per capita, and drinking water were only significant for sick health group while marital status, education, employment status, sanitation, house area was only significant for very sick health status group. In urban areas, the results indicated that gender, employment status, and drinking water were only significant for sick health status, while marital status, education, sanitation, and house area significant for very sick health status. Moreover, in rural areas, marital status was only significant for sick health status whereas, sanitation and house area were significant for the very sick health status.

How Does Climate Change Affect Rice Production in Thailand? Assessing the Role of Financial Development

The study aims to examine the impacts of climate change (CC) and financial development (FD) on rice production (RP) in Thailand from the period 1969 to 2016 by using the ARDL and VECM framework. The empirical results revealed that in the long- run (LR) and short-run (SR) there is a reduction in rice production as temperature increase. The carbon dioxide (CO2) positively affects rice production in the (LR), while this connection is negative in the SR. The empirical results further confirmed that in the LR and SR domestic credit provided by the financial sector positively and significantly improved rice production, while domestic credit to private sector by banks negatively affect rice production. The important input factors including cultivated area, fertilizers use and labor force positively and significantly contributed to rice production in both LR and SR. The LR causal link of all variables with rice production is validated. The SR causal association is unidirectional among temperature, CO2 emissions, financial development, labor force and rice production. Additionally, the IRF and VDM outcomes also confirm that both climate change and socioeconomic development are crucial for rice production in Thailand. The study offers important policy implications to improve rice production with the help of improved financial system and climate controls.

Social Security On Labor Markets to Address the Aging Population in Selected ASEAN Countries

The world is becoming older, and aging in the developing countries of the ASEAN region is unfolding faster than most developed countries in the United States and Europe. This paper examined the effectiveness of old age income security programs mandated in selected ASEAN countries. These programs sought to address the aging problem to encourage the government to promote the aging labor force's efficiency and increase labor force productivity. Furthermore, the study examined the effect of old-age dependency, increase in the life expectancy, and GDP per capita on labor force productivity using a panel data set from selected ASEAN countries from various income brackets, specifically Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, which are also classified as yellow group nations that are in the process of the demographic dividend implementation. Using the Multiple Regression Model, the researchers found out that the Old-Age Dependency Ratio positively impacts Labor Force Participation Rate. However, GDP per Capita, Life Expectancy, and the Non-contributory fund decrease the Labor Force Participation Rate.