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Labor Issues in the Food Supply Chain Amid the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Luckstead Jeff,
Nayga Rodolfo M.,
Snell Heather A.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
applied economic perspectives and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.4
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2040-5804
pISSN - 2040-5790
DOI - 10.1002/aepp.13090
Subject(s) - pandemic , agriculture , food security , government (linguistics) , covid-19 , immigration , supply chain , business , outbreak , food insecurity , food supply , economics , demographic economics , economic growth , labour economics , agricultural economics , marketing , political science , geography , philosophy , law , linguistics , archaeology , pathology , virology , biology , medicine , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty)
The impacts of COVID‐19 on labor in the food supply chain and on workers’ decisions to accept essential jobs are discussed. We then analyze surveys administered to low‐skilled domestic workers before and during the pandemic to assess respondents' attitudes toward food production, guest workers, immigration policy, and the government's response to COVID‐19. Results suggest the outbreak resulted in respondents, on average, shifting their view toward food being a national security issue and a higher degree of empathy for H‐2A workers. Regression analysis shows that gender, current agricultural workers, and information on COVID‐19 and agricultural field workers influenced respondents' answers.