Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Partisan Polarization And Resistance To Elite Messages: Results From Survey Experiments On Social Distancing, Syon Bhanot, D. J. Hopkins

Economics Faculty Works

COVID-19 compelled government officials in the U.S. and elsewhere to institute social distancing policies, shuttering much of the economy. At a time of low trust and high polarization, Americans may only support such disruptive policies when recommended by same-party politicians. A related concern is that some may resist advice from “elite” sources such as government officials or public health experts. We test these possibilities using novel data from two online surveys with embedded experiments conducted with approximately 2,000 Pennsylvania residents each, in spring 2020 (Study 1 in April and Study 2 in May-June). We uncover partisan differences in views on …

Essentializing Labor Before, During, And After The Coronavirus Pandemic, Deepa Das Acevedo

Faculty Articles

In the era of COVID-19, the term essential labor has become part of our daily lexicon. Between March and May 2020, essential labor was not just the only kind of paid labor occurring across most of the United States; it was also, many argued, the only thing preventing utter economic and humanitarian collapse. As a result of this sudden significance, legal scholars, workers’ advocates, and politicians have scrambled to articulate exactly what makes essential labor “essential.” Some commentators have also argued that the rise of essential labor as a conceptual category disrupts—or should disrupt—longstanding patterns in the way the nation …

Individual Differences, Economic Stability, And Fear Of Contagion As Risk Factors For Ptsd Symptoms In The Covid-19 Emergency, Adolfo Di Crosta, Rocco Palumbo, Daniela Marchetti, Irene Ceccato, Pasquale La Malva, Roberta Maiella, Mario Cipi, Paolo Roma, Nicola Mammarella, Maria Cristina Verrocchio, Alberto Di Domenico

Management, Marketing, and Organizational Communication Department Student Works

On January 30th 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Italy has been one of the most affected countries in the world. To contain further spread of the virus, the Italian government has imposed an unprecedented long-period lockdown for the entire country. This dramatic scenario may have caused a strong psychological distress, with potential negative long-term mental health consequences. The aim of the present study is to report the prevalence of high psychological distress due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the general population, especially considering that this aspect is …

Structural Discrimination In Covid-19 Workplace Protections, Ruqaiijah Yearby, Seema Mohapatra

All Faculty Scholarship

Workers, who are being asked to risk their health by working outside their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, need adequate hazard compensation, safe workplace conditions, and personal protective equipment (PPE). Sadly, this is not happening for many essential workers, such as those working in home health care and in the meat processing industry. These workers are not only being unnecessarily exposed to the virus, but they are also not receiving paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, and affordable health care and childcare. The lack of these protections is due to structural discrimination and has disproportionately disadvantaged women of color and low-wage …

Part 3: Anxiety And Stress In The Workplace, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

Workplace stress and anxiety cost the Hampton Roads economy more than $1 billion in lost productivity and health care expenditures in 2019. We explore the economic impact of workplace anxiety, stress and depression. We highlight how COVID-19 has increased anxiety and taken a toll on African American and Hispanic households. We ask how businesses can help alleviate anxiety and stress in a time of economic uncertainty.

Part 1: A Shock To The System: Covid-19 And Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

COVID-19 changed how we view the Hampton Roads economy. In January 2020, the region was projected to grow faster than the nation, there were more unfilled jobs than unemployed workers and boosts in defense spending brightened our economic future. By April, however, businesses were closing, jobs were being lost and residents were under a stay-at-home order. We assess the economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic and examine prospects for the coming year.

The State Of The Region: Hampton Roads 2020, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy, Old Dominion University, Vinod Agarwal, Andrew A. Bennett, Barbara Blake, Emily Campion, Ethan Crouson, Steve Daniel, Addie Gregory, Elizabeth Janik, Nikki Johnson, Sheila Keener, James V. Koch, Tim Komarek, Feng Lian, Sharon Lomax, Janet Molinaro, Brendan O' Hallarn, Robert M. Mcnab

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

[From the introductory material]

This is Old Dominion University’s 21st annual State of the Region Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, John R. Broderick, the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Although our devotion to this work remains steadfast, our enthusiasm, admittedly, has been dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the toll it has taken on the region, …

Part 5: The Kids Are Not All Right: Youth Mental Health In Hampton Roads, Dragas Center For Economic Analysis And Policy

State of the Region Reports: Hampton Roads

More and more young people, particularly teenagers, report that they are anxious or depressed – a trend that has only escalated since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter looks at the state of youth mental health and the accessibility of care in Hampton Roads. The $224 million Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters mental health hospital now under construction will address an urgent need and place the region at the forefront of behavioral and mental health care for children.

Bankruptcy Courts Ill-Prepared For Tsunami Of People Going Broke From Coronavirus Shutdown, Paige Marta Skiba, Dalié Jiménez, Michelle Miller, Pamela Foohey, Sara Sternberg Green

Economics Faculty Works

As more Americans lose all or part of their incomes and struggle with mounting debts, another crisis looms: a wave of personal bankruptcies. Bankruptcy can discharge or erase many types of debts and stop foreclosures, repossessions and wage garnishments. But our research shows the bankruptcy system is difficult to navigate even in normal times, particularly for minorities, the elderly and those in rural areas.

The Distributional Short-Term Impact Of The Covid-19 Crisis On Wages In The United States, Yonatan Berman

Publications and Research

This paper uses Bureau of Labor Statistics employment and wage data to study the distributional impact of the COVID-19 crisis on wages in the United States by mid-April. It answers whether wages of lower-wage workers decreased more than others', and to what extent. We find that the COVID-19 outbreak exacerbates existing inequalities. Workers at the bottom quintile in mid-March were three times more likely to be laid off by mid-April compared to higher-wage workers. Weekly wages of workers at the bottom quintile decreased by 6% on average between mid-February and mid-March and by 26% between mid-March and mid-April. The average …