Marriage and divorce during a pandemic: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marital formation and dissolution in Mexico.

In this study, we consider the initial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on family formation and dissolution. We use national microdata covering all marriages and divorces in Mexico, an event-study design and a difference-in-difference specification. Our findings indicate that over March through December of 2020, marriage rates declined by 54% and divorce rates by 43%. By the end of 2020, divorce rates recover back to baseline levels, but marriage rates remain 30% below the 2017-2019 baseline level. Overall, our findings suggest that marital dissolutions quickly recovered (6 months into the pandemic), but at the end of 2020, family formation remained at persistently lower levels.

The (temporary) Covid-19 baby bust in Mexico.

In this paper, we investigate whether fertility and newborn health changed during the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico. We use national administrative data and an event-study design to examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility and newborn health characteristics. Our findings suggest that Mexico's fertility declined temporarily as measured by conceptions that likely occurred during the stay-at-home order. Initially, the general fertility rate fell by 11-12 per cent but quickly rebounded and returned close to its original levels by the end of 2021. Newborn health also deteriorated during the pandemic. Instances of low birthweight and prematurity substantially increased, with both remaining elevated over the entire pandemic period.

Disputes between neighbors in Mexican cities during the COVID‐19 pandemic

We estimate the effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic lockdown on disputes between neighbors using a panel of 70 cities from across Mexico and a difference‐in‐difference strategy. Our results show that the lockdown exacerbated disputes related to pets as nuisances by 45%, noise by 31%, unruly children by 23%, and garbage by 22%. We do not find any effect of the COVID‐19 lockdown on disputes related to gossip. We also estimate heterogeneous effects of the alcohol sales ban across Mexican municipalities. Our findings suggest that this public policy helped to reduce the likelihood of disputes related to noise and garbage.

The impact of the COVID-19 recession on Mexican households: evidence from employment and time use for men, women, and children.

This study examines changes in labor supply, income, and time allocation during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Using an event-study design, we show that the COVID-19 recession had severe negative consequences for Mexican households. In the first month of the pandemic, employment declined by 17 percentage points. Men recovered their employment faster than women, where men's employment approaches original levels by 2021Q2. Women, on the other hand, experienced persistent employment losses. Within-household, men also increased their time spent on household chores while neither gender (persistently) increased their time caring for others. Instead, children reduced their time spent on schoolwork by 25%.

The U-shaped crime recovery during COVID-19: evidence from national crime rates in Mexico.

The existing empirical evidence suggests a reduction in aggregate crime as a consequence of the COVID-19 lockdown. However, what happens when lockdown measures are relaxed? This paper considers how the COVID-19 pandemic affects crime rates throughout Mexico when the stay-at-home orders end. We use national crime data from Mexico's National Public Security System, which reports municipality-level rates on assault & battery, theft & property crime, fraud, drug crimes & extortion, and homicides. Our results show that the majority of crimes follow a U-shaped trend-when the lockdown ends-crimes rise back to pre-pandemic levels.

COVID-19 blues: Lockdowns and mental health-related google searches in Latin America.

RATIONALE: Stress process theory considers that actual and perceived isolation, caused by mobility restrictions from attempted containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, deteriorates mental health. OBJECTIVE: We examine the relationship between the COVID-19 lockdowns and mental health-related Google searches in 11 Latin American countries. We include the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. We also explore how changes in search patterns relate to income support policies and to COVID-19 death rates. METHOD: Using Google Trends data and an event-study design, as well as a difference-in-differences analysis, we investigate the association between country specific stay-at-home orders and internet searches including the following words: insomnia, stress, anxiety, sadness, depression, and suicide. RESULTS: We find three main patterns. First, searches for insomnia peak but then decline. Second, searches for stress, anxiety, and sadness increase and remain high throughout the lockdown. Third, there is no substantial change in depression-related or suicide-related searches after the lockdown. In terms of potential mechanisms, our results suggest that searches declined for suicide and insomnia following the passage of each country's income support, while in countries with higher COVID-19-related death rates, searches for insomnia, stress, and anxiety increased by more. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that, in Latin America, Google searches for words associated with mild mental health disorders increased during the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Nonetheless, these conclusions should not be construed as a general population mental health deterioration, as we cannot verify that search indicators are accurately related to the users' current feelings and behaviors, and as internet users may not be representative of the population in this region.

The great crime recovery: Crimes against women during, and after, the COVID-19 lockdown in Mexico.

This paper considers whether the COVID-19 stay-at-home order affected crimes targeting women. To answer this question, we use national municipal-level crime data from Mexico's National Public Security System. The NPSS reports sexual crimes, lapses in alimony, domestic violence, and femicides. Using the NPSS, we track monthly changes in crimes targeting women using an event-study design. Our results show that lapses in alimony, sexual crimes, and domestic violence follow a U-shaped trend. Each crime declined during the stay-at-home order, and then rose back to pre-COVID levels by October. Then, we analyze potential mechanisms for the reduction in crimes against women. We find that infection risk, victim-criminal match, and banning the sale of alcohol are related to higher declines in crime.

The Long Downturn: The Impact of the Great Lockdown on Formal Employment

In this paper, we use administrative data covering Mexico’s formal labor market to investigate the employment effects of the Great Lockdown (GL). Our results show that the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown caused Mexico’s formal sector to contract by 5% by November of 2020. By August, men’s jobs started to recover, while women’s jobs remain stagnant. We then document heterogeneous effects by age, income, size of the firms, and economic sector activity. The most affected economic agents during the pandemic include the youngest workers (15 to 29- years-old), oldest workers (over 60 years old), low-income earners, small-sized firms (6-50 workers), medium-sized firms (51-250 workers), workers in the con- struction industry, and the hospitality-focused service sectors. Finally, we test dif- ferent state-level factors that may explain heterogeneity within Mexico: state-level reopenings and lockdowns, infection risk, and stimulus payments. Our findings suggest more considerable employment losses in states that experienced succes- sive lockdowns.

COVID-19 and women's health: Examining changes in mental health and fertility.

Researchers have speculated that the economic and social consequences of COVID19 will harm women's health. This paper tests this claim in the immediate aftermath of Mexico City's COVID-19 stay-at-home order using call-center data. We use an event-study design to track calls for fertility decisions and mental health. Our findings indicate that mental health worsened during the pandemic. Anxiety calls increased substantially, with the effect being most pronounced for those over 45. Calls related to abortion fell in number, while pregnancy calls remained stable. The abortion effect is most pronounced for women between 15 and 30 and those with a high school degree.

Druglords don't stay at home: COVID-19 pandemic and crime patterns in Mexico City.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on conventional crime and organized crime in Mexico City, Mexico. METHODS: Mexico City's Attorney General's Office reported crime data, covering domestic violence, burglary, robbery, vehicle theft, assault-battery, homicides, kidnapping, and extortion. We use an event study for the intertemporal variation across the 16 districts (municipalities) in Mexico City for 2019 and 2020. RESULTS: We find a sharp decrease on crimes related to domestic violence, burglary, and vehicle theft; a decrease during some weeks on crimes related to assault-battery and extortion, and no effects on crimes related to robbery, kidnapping, and homicides. CONCLUSIONS: While our results show a decline in conventional crime during the COVID- 19 pandemic, organized crime remains steady. These findings have policy implications for catastrophic events around the world, as well as possible national security issues in Mexico.