Emerging research on the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic draws attention to the labor effects of the crisis in the Global South. Developing countries show high levels of labor informality, where most workers cannot work from home and depend on daily income. In addition, the scarce and late state aid makes it difficult for workers to cope with the economic hardships caused by the pandemic. This research explores the employment trajectories of workers throughout the ongoing pandemic in Chile: a neoliberal country with a strong male breadwinner culture and high levels of income inequality. Using longitudinal non-probabilistic data for Chilean employment, this study finds that men lost their jobs to a lesser extent and returned to the labor market faster than women. Likewise, male workers with family (with a partner and young children) remained employed in a higher proportion than female workers with family, and most of these women shifted from employment into care work. The existing literature already pointed out how economic crises can have adverse effects on progress towards gender equality, and the current economic crisis seems to be no exception. Labor informality and low-skilled jobs were highly related to unemployment during the first months of COVID in Chile. These are important variables in a developing economy such as Chile, where around one-third of the population works under these conditions. This article concludes by reflecting on the importance of addressing the present crisis and future economic recovery with a gender perspective.
Can protest occurrence influence electoral behavior? In this paper, we examine the changes in trajectories of voter turnout and electoral preferences at the local level after a contentious cycle. Using data from protests during the 2019 mobilizations in Bolivia and Chile, and subsequent general election results in both countries, we examine the impact that street demonstrations had on voting behavior. Through difference-in-differences models, we assess if (1) protest occurrence influenced voter turnout, (2) if there was a change in political preferences, compared to previous elections, and (3) if episodes of repression affect the relationship between protest and electoral behavior. We find that political participation increased in the localities that experienced protest, compared to ones that did not develop contentious activities. Conversely, the incumbent party is electorally punished in the repressed localities. This paper contributes to the literature on the effects of social movements by evaluating how the proximity and experience of protest influences electoral behavior.
The impact of police repression on protest has been a central topic in the research on collective action and mobilization. While in some contexts, repression can deter protest, other times it backfires, increasing mobilization and its intensity. But still, we have relatively little knowledge of exactly \textit{which} repressive actions are associated with deterrence or incitement of protest activity, and why. Using novel data on protest repression in Chile, I study the effect of repressive actions over the occurrence of subsequent protest events, and whether specific forms of repression (such as arrests, beatings, or the use of non-lethal weapons, among others) have a differentiated effect over protest dynamics. I find that repression through non-lethal weapons, which includes the use of rubber bullets, tear gas, and water cannons aimed at crowd control does not deter protest but increases their occurrence in the following days. Conversely, other forms of repression do not have an effect on protest occurrence. These results indicate that repression does not account for protest decline and that visible forms of state coercion, such as the use of non-lethal weapons, can increase contentious activities potentially through the generation of public commotion.
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