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Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia

55 (1) 2021 39 – 49


Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note
Tindakbalas Pasaran Buruh terhadap Langkah Sekatan semasa Pandemik Covid-19 di Malaysia: Satu Catatan Empirik

Putra Business School
43400 UPM Serdang
MALAYSIA

muzafar@putrabs.edu.my

EIS-UPMCS Centre for Future Labour Market Studies
Menara PERKESO Putrajaya
No. 6, Persiaran Perdana, Presint 2,
62100 Putrajaya
Wilayah Persekutuan
MALAYSIA

mysaari@gmail.com

College of Government, Law and International Studies
Universiti Utara Malaysia
06010 UUM Sintok
Kedah
MALAYSIA

badariahdin@uum.edu.my

Graduate Program in Economics
Faculty of Economics and Business
Universitas Indonesia
Depok 16424
INDONESIA

sugiharso@ui.ac.id

School of Business and Economics
Universiti Putra Malaysia
43400 UPM Serdang
Selangor
MALAYSIA

uchakrin@gmail.com

Abstract

In this empirical note, we examine the relationship between the loss of employment and lockdown measures undertaken by the Malaysian government during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak over the period from 25 January 2020 to 10 September 2020. By using cointegration analysis, our results suggest that there are both long-run and short-run relationships between loss of employment and lockdown measures in Malaysia. Lockdown measures show positive impact on the number of workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The loss of employment increases by 0.35% to 1.1% for every 1% increase in the lockdown measures.

Keywords

cointegration; Covid-19; lockdown; loss of employment; Malaysia

JEL Codes

H30, I18, J64

Author’s Acknowledgement

Funding for this project comes from the Research Grant NKB-1912/UN2.R3.1/HKP.05.00/2019 provided by the Hibah Kolaborasi Riset Internasional 2019, Universitas Indonesia.


Bibliography

Export Bibliography

Habibullah, , Saari, , Haji Din, , Safuan, , & Utit, (2021). Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note. Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia, 55(1), 39–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JEM-2021-5501-3

@article{habibullah2021labour,
  title={Labour Market Reactions to Lockdown Measures during the Covid-19 Pandemic in Malaysia: An Empirical Note},
  author={Habibullah, Muzafar and Saari, Mohd Yusof and Haji Din, Badariah and Safuan, Sugiharso and Utit, Chakrin},
  journal={Jurnal Ekonomi Malaysia},
  volume={55},
  number={1},
  pages={39—49},
 

year={2021},
}


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