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Published Article

Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries

Despite numerous journalistic accounts, systematic quantitative evidence on economic conditions during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic remains scarce for most low- and middle-income countries, partly due to limitations of official economic statistics in environments with large informal sectors and subsistence agriculture. We assemble evidence from over 30,000 respondents in 16 original household surveys from nine countries in Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Sierra Leone), Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, Philippines), and Latin America (Colombia). We document declines in employment and income in all settings beginning March 2020. The share of households experiencing an income drop ranges from 8 to 87% (median, 68%). Household coping strategies and government assistance were insufficient to sustain precrisis living standards, resulting in widespread food insecurity and dire economic conditions even 3 months into the crisis. We discuss promising policy responses and speculate about the risk of persistent adverse effects, especially among children and other vulnerable groups.

Title Falling living standards during the COVID-19 crisis: Quantitative evidence from nine developing countries
Author
  • Edward Miguel
  • Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
  • Günther Fink
  • Michael Walker
  • Dennis Egger
  • Shana S. Warren
  • Ashish Shenoy
  • Elliott Collins
  • Dean Karlan
  • Doug Parkerson
  • Christopher Udry
  • Johannes Haushofer
  • Magdalena Larraboure
  • Susan Athey
  • Paula-Lopez Pena
  • Salim Benhachmi
  • Macartan Humphreys
  • Layna Lowe
  • Nicolló F. Meriggi
  • Andrew Wabwire
  • C. Austin Davis
  • Utz Johann Pape
  • Tilman Graff
  • Maarten Voors
  • Carolyn Nekesa
  • Corey Vernot
Published in Science Advances, vol. 7, no. 6
Publication Date 05/02/2021
Thematic AreaCOVID-19
Project Gender Effects of COVID-19: Evidence from the Kenya Life Panel Survey Seasonal Migration and Agricultural Labour Markets in Nepal
See Published Article

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Established in 1998 in Bonn, Germany, IZA is an independent, non-profit research institution supported by the Deutsche Post Foundation with a focus on the analysis of global labour markets. It operates an international network of about 1,500 economists and researchers spanning across more than 50 countries.

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