ILO Brief

Impact assessment of COVID-19 response policy measures on informal employment in Argentina

During the COVID-19 pandemic, ILO committed to the UN 2030 Development Agenda's objective of ensuring full, productive and voluntary employment, along with decent work, and focusing on vulnerable groups and the sectors most affected by the crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic left no country untouched and caused significant economic disruption worldwide. In this context, the ILO reaffirmed its commitment to leave no one behind, especially the most vulnerable (women, youth, the poor). To counteract the negative effects of the pandemic, governments have implemented various economic policies. In spite of macroeconomic constraints, the Argentine government quickly launched several aid packages to support the economy, formal employment and income.

To assess the effectiveness of these policies in Argentina as a case study, a multi-sector recursive-dynamic structuralist CGE model of the Argentine economy - labour market informality and gender gaps - has been developed. It is calibrated using an informality and gender-sensitive social accounting matrix for Argentina in 2018, with the associated satellite account of employment. This model allows for an ex-post evaluation of the policy measures in the short and long term.

The results show that the policy packages were successful in mitigating the negative effects of the pandemic and also paved the way for economic recovery, preserving formal employment and female labour force participation.