Zsofia Barany discussion of: Unsafe jobs

ABSTRACT

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been hugely heterogeneous across individuals depending on their job. The present paper classifies the health risk and the labour market risk associated with each job. The health risk depends on how likely it is that someone gets infected with COVID-19 while working, whereas the labour market risk measures the likelihood that workers performing these jobs will be (temporarily) laid off. Quantifying these risks is crucial, as they measure the exposure of workers employed in each job to the two most important risks related to the pandemic. The authors then characterize the individuals most exposed to these risks and finally investigate what the state can do to protect them.