Working Paper: NBER ID: w28374
Authors: Hummy Song; Ryan M. McKenna; Angela T. Chen; Guy David; Aaron Smith-McLallen
Abstract: In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many localities instituted non-essential business closure orders, keeping individuals categorized as essential workers at the frontlines while sending their non-essential counterparts home. We examine the extent to which being designated as an essential or non-essential worker impacts one’s risk of being Covid-positive following the non-essential business closure order in Pennsylvania. We also assess the intrahousehold transmission risk experienced by their cohabiting family members and roommates. Using a difference-in-differences framework, we estimate that workers designated as essential have a 55% higher likelihood of being positive for Covid-19 than those classified as non-essential; in other words, non-essential workers experience a protective effect. While members of the health care and social assistance subsector contribute significantly to this overall effect, it is not completely driven by them. We also find evidence of intrahousehold transmission that differs in intensity by essential status. Dependents cohabiting with an essential worker have a 17% higher likelihood of being Covid-positive compared to those cohabiting with a non-essential worker. Roommates cohabiting with an essential worker experience a 38% increase in likelihood of being Covid-positive. Analysis of households with a Covid-positive member suggests that intrahousehold transmission is an important mechanism
Keywords: COVID-19; essential workers; nonessential workers; infection rates; public health policy
JEL Codes: H75; I12; I14; I18; J21; J68
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Essential worker designation (J45) | Increased likelihood of COVID-19 infection (I14) |
| Nonessential business closure policy (J65) | Protective effect for nonessential workers (J28) |
| Cohabiting dependents of essential workers (J69) | Increased likelihood of COVID-19 infection (I14) |
| Roommates of essential workers (R21) | Increased likelihood of COVID-19 infection (I14) |