On the employment and health impact of the COVID-19 shock on Italian regions: a value chain approach

We evaluate the exposure of Italian regions to employment and the health risk associated with the spread of COVID-19. First, we estimate the degree of participation of Italian regions in a plurality of value chains linked to consumption, investment and exports. Second, we investigate the different levels of contagion risk associated with each value chain and the possibility of reducing such risk through remote work. We find that regions are affected differently by lockdown policies because of their highly heterogeneous embeddedness in different value chains, and their diverse sectoral contributions to each of them.