Impact of Covid-19 Policies on Women Self-employment Rates: An Integrated Conceptual Framework

An integrated framework for studying the effects of COVID-19 policies on women self-employment rates is not available despite the increased economic activity of women in self-employment across several countries. The main objective of this paper is to develop a conceptual framework for the effects of COVID-19 policies on women self-employment rates, and the moderators of the relationship. Based on a critical review of the literature, we develop a conceptual framework, which consists of two types of COVID-19 policies, namely hostile lockdown policies (i.e., those that restrict community movement) and less/non-hostile policies (i.e., those that do not restrict movement). We then theorize the direct effects of these policies on women self-employment rates, and the factors that moderate the relationship. First, compared to men, hostile COVID-19 lockdown policies are more likely to have negative effects on women self-employment rates. Secondly, hostile COVID-19 lockdown policies are more likely to have a negative impact on women in self-employment, relative to women in wage employment. Third, the effects of COVID-19 policies on women self-employment rates are moderated by social factors (i.e., marriage and caring responsibilities) and economic development factors (i.e., level of human development, income support measures, size of the informal economy, and informal cross-border trading). The paper offers several guidelines for the formulation of public policies related to epidemics/pandemics and their effects on women self-employment rates.