The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Labor Market: An Analysis of Supply and Demand in the Spanish Municipalities

The COVID-19 pandemic represents the largest health and economic crisis in recent history. It has particularly affected the countries of the Mediterranean area, with serious repercussions in terms of not only infections and deaths, but also economic losses. In particular, social distancing measures, severe restrictions, and lockdowns imposed by governments have had serious repercussions on the labor market. The impact of the pandemic on the labor market has prompted numerous researchers to examine and quantify its consequences. However, mainly macroeconomic analyses have been carried out and there is a lack of studies aimed at examining the impact on the labor market in the individual municipalities. This study aims to bridge this gap by examining the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on the supply and demand of labor in Spanish municipalities, and the factors that can influence these levels of employment. The results show the relevance of the characteristics of the business fabric in the supply and demand for employment during the first months of the pandemic. In addition, they show that the economic activity of the municipality and the demographic features of the population condition the labor market.

An Assessment of Post-COVID-19 EU Recovery Funds and the Distribution of Them among Member States

The European Commission has launched numerous recovery plans for Member States to try to mitigate the damage caused by COVID-19. The most important element of this program is the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), which is worth EUR 672.5 billion in loans and grants. Seventy per cent of the RRF grants will be distributed between 2021 and 2022, with the remaining 30 per cent in 2023. The allocation of grants for the period 2021–2022 has been made according to different socioeconomic criteria. In this context, the aim of our work is to assess the recovery policies jointly developed by EU countries and to analyze which of the criteria adopted for the allocation of the grants included in the RRF for the period 2021–2022 has been most decisive in the distribution of these funds. In addition, we also examine whether other health indicators directly related to the pandemic can also be related to the amount of funding that EU countries will receive in this period by carrying out regression analysis. Our results show that the countries that will receive more RRF grants are those with larger populations, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and higher unemployment rates. Furthermore, it is noted that health criteria, as well as those of a socioeconomic nature, may be relevant in the allocation of recovery funds. In this way, our results can be the start of a debate in the literature on whether the socioeconomic criteria adopted in the distribution of these funds have been appropriate. or whether other criteria, such as those of a health nature, should have been taken into account.

Efficiency in the governance of the Covid-19 pandemic: political and territorial factors.

BACKGROUND: The pandemic generated by Covid-19 has changed the way of life of citizens around the world in a short time, affecting all areas of society directly or indirectly, which is facing a global health crisis with different national responses implemented by governments. Several months into the pandemic, the first after-effects of Covid-19 are beginning to be felt by citizens, who are questioning the management carried out so far. In order to improve the performance of governmental decisions to reduce the impact of the pandemic during the coming months, we calculated the levels of efficiency in the management of health resources. In addition, we identify some country characteristics that may condition efficient management. RESULTS: We obtained significant differences according to the geographical location of the country, with European and American countries being less efficient than Asian and African countries. Likewise, we can affirm that greater freedom of expression, a higher median age and an unstable economy and labor market reduce efficiency. However, female leadership of the government and greater compliance with the rule of law offer more efficient management, as do countries that derive more revenues from tourism. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide an opportunity for political leaders to reflect on their management during these months of the pandemic in order to identify mistakes and improve the implementation of effective measures. It has been shown that using more resources does not mean managing better; therefore, policymakers need to pay special attention to the use of resources, taking into account the budgetary constraints of the public sector.

Price Fluctuation, Protected Geographical Indications and Employment in the Spanish Small Ruminant Sector during the COVID-19 Crisis.

Official milk prices in the Spanish small ruminant sector were used for 5 years (2015-2019) to analyze the effect caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis in 2020. Meat price fluctuations were also studied using the weekly prices officially provided by some of the main agrarian markets of the country (n = 6) in 2019 and 2020. Moreover, the sales and prices of three protected geographical indications (PGI) of lamb meat served to study the marketability when the products are sold or not under these quality labels in a crisis context. According to Spanish Government's official communications, 2020 was divided in three periods of study (pre-COVID-19, total confinement and post-confinement). The evolution of employment in this subsector in 2020, as a direct consequence of this crisis, was also analyzed considering data provided by producers. Results showed an intra-annual seasonal effect for milk prices in 2020 for both livestock species, as observed in previous years. However, a negative economic impact on goat milk prices due to the pandemic was checked during the confinement and post-confinement months. Sheep milk prices remained stable. Lamb and goat kid meat prices showed a similar trend in comparison with 2019 during the pre-COVID-19 period. The total confinement period recorded a short interval of 1-2 weeks in which the prices declined, before the suspension of quotations in many markets. In contrast, once confinement was completed, meat prices for both ruminant species rapidly reached levels that existed before the coronavirus crisis. Overall data suggested the protective effect of the PGI marks on lamb meat. Lambs with a PGI had better 2020 prices than non-PGI lambs (+8%), regardless of the period analyzed. Moreover, with fewer lambs sold in 2020, there was a relevant drop in sales of non-PGI lambs vs. PGI (-19% vs. -2%) during the first 7 months. Finally, there was little or no readjustment of the workforce in the small ruminant flocks.

Short-Term Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Spanish Small Ruminant Flocks.

The human pandemic COVID-19 caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) started in China in 2019 and has rapidly spread around the world, leading to extreme control measures such as population confinement and industry activity closure. Although small ruminants are not sanitary affected by this virus, the short-term economic impact derived by COVID-19 on Spanish flocks is estimated in this study, using data provided by producers and two major slaughterhouses. Milk prices of dairy goat flocks suffered a substantial drop in April 2020, close to 4.5 cts EUR/liter compared to the previous month. In contrast, the monthly milk prices in sheep remained almost stable during this period, and even increases of more than EUR 6 cts were reported in comparison with the previous year. Nevertheless, economical differences are reported by areas where producers could receive a higher income, close to EUR 0.3 per liter of milk. Global data provided by feedlots affecting 2750 Spanish flocks evidenced a lamb price drop ranging from 16.8% to 26.9% after the pandemic arrival; in line with the data directly reported by a limited sample of producers (ranging from 11.0% to 23.7%). The goat kid meat market also suffered a reduction in prices per kg, near 12.5%; although, for some flocks, losses reached up to 40%. In the same line, 2 slaughterhouses reported a sudden sacrifice drop around 27% for lambs and goat kids sacrifices in April, in contrast with the usual sacrifice figures from the beginning of 2020. Moreover, our study showed a temporary and unexpected retention of lambs and goat kids at farms due to a reduction in animals slaughtered during this period. In conclusion, data evidenced a considerable negative economic impact on Spanish small ruminant flocks, throughout the first 60 days after COVID-19's pandemic declaration. Further studies are needed to evaluate the long-term economic consequences, in order to establish contingency plans and avoid the collapse of small ruminant industries when a crisis of these characteristics occurs.