The exclusive countryside post‐pandemic

The processes through which the British countryside has become increasingly socially exclusive have been a theme of rural scholars' research since the 1970s, and these social changes are reflected in experiences of the pandemic. This paper begins by observing the central importance of power relations, and then discusses the pivotal role of housing as a motor of rural social change and exclusivity. Notwithstanding these processes, and indeed largely because of these asymmetric power relations, rural poverty remains. This paper summarises experiences of social exclusion in rural areas during the pandemic and reflects on the social redistribution of risk and the need to rebuild social protection in a continuing ‘permacrisis'. The emergence of the concept of the permacrisis indicates a recognition that the Covid‐19 pandemic is only one of a series of continuing or recurring challenges or potential ‘shocks' that we face, and this paper concludes by suggesting a research agenda for rural scholars as well as a potential rural policy agenda. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Geographical Journal is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Introduction

The twenty-first century has brought in massive changes in the labour processes, employment relations and erosion of labour standards in all sectors—manufacturing, agriculture and service—of the world economy. COVID19 pandemic has brought centre-stage the feminist discourse on paid and unpaid work, visible and invisiblised work, officially recognised and officially bypassed/ignored work as well as women's contribution of care economy for the survival of humankind. At this juncture, this edited volume acquires a great significance as it not only connects the missing dots in the gendered labour markets but also makes a convincing case for an urgent need for fiscal expansion to ensure food and health security, protection of livelihoods and investment in human development in this unequal world. The book is divided into three parts: (1) macroeconomy and women's work, (2) women in the urban economy and regional diversity and (3) women in agriculture and allied occupations. © 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

Assistência Social no ajuste fiscal: pandemia e gestão da força de trabalho

O presente artigo objetiva discutir aspectos recentes da política de assistência social brasileira, considerando a incidência da radicalização do projeto neoliberal sobre seus serviços e as características de sua intervenção no contexto da pandemia da Covid-19. Elegemos como mote de análise central a relação entre a referida política e a gestão da força de trabalho mais precarizada e empobrecida, que no geral têm composto o público-alvo deste campo de proteção social. Tomando como base os fundamentos da crítica marxista da política social, a abordagem da assistência social procura desvelar as contradições inerentes a esta política de seguridade social, problematizando os principais elementos do endurecimento do ajuste fiscal no Brasil. Essas reflexões sedimentam as bases para a análise acerca da condição dessa política na gestão da força de trabalho mais empobrecida a partir das determinações da pandemia da Covid-19. A pesquisa, de natureza qualitativa, se assenta em revisão bibliográfica e análise de dados empíricos de fonte primária e secundária.Alternate :This article aims to discuss recent aspects of Brazilian social assistance policy, considering the incidence of the radicalization of the neoliberal project on its services and the characteristics of its intervention in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. We chose as a central analysis theme the relationship between the aforementioned policy and the management of the most precarious and impoverished workforce, which in general have made up the target audience of this field of social protection. Based on the foundations of the Marxist critique of social policy, the approach to social assistance seeks to reveal the contradictions inherent in this social security policy, questioning the main elements of the tightening of fiscal adjustment in Brazil. These reflections solidify the bases for the analysis about the condition of this policy in the management of the most impoverished workforce from the determinations of the Covid-19 pandemic. The research, of a qualitative nature, is based on a literature review and analysis of empirical data from primary and secondary sources.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Female Domestic Workers in an Urban Setting

This paper focuses on the increasing marginalisation and vulnerability of female domestic workers in urban India in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. It analyses the impact of the pandemic on the livelihood and the physical, mental and emotional well-being of women domestic workers through a primary survey conducted in Lucknow city in 2020 and 2021. The paper highlights the effect of lockdown on their livelihoods, savings, food security, family life and mental health. It also analyses the effectiveness of the outreach of government support to this vulnerable segment of the urban informal sector. Given the vulnerability of this group to various forms of exploitation, the authors suggest that policy interventions aimed at providing welfare and social protections will need to be coupled with strong political will and increased social consciousness to have an enduring impact. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

Savings groups and the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe: Critical assessment of the informal social protection scheme

The COVID-19 pandemic has ravaged nations and people's lives throughout the globe across multiple dimensions. Measures to curtail the spread of the disease in Zimbabwe have stifled the capacity of the majority of the population, relegated to the informal sector, to source a living. In the absence of robust social protection interventions from the state, these measures pose a more immediate threat to the lives of marginalised and vulnerable communities than the pandemic itself. Savings groups (SGs), which have providedfinancial relief andprotection from economic shocks and stressors to such population groups, have been entrapped by the preventive and containment measures employed by the Zimbabwean authorities. It is unclear how and to what degree such conditions leave underserved populations exposed to socioeconomic shocks as such vital informal social protection alternatives have been rendered ineffectual. Using documentary review, this study examines the fate of SGs in such socially restricted and economically debilitating circumstances. In addition, the authors discuss strategies for improving the sustainability of such grassroots micro-finance initiatives under COVID-19 induced contraptions. Programmatic andpolicy measures necessary for retaining and protecting the viability of (SGs) as alternatives for informal social protection for marginalised and vulnerable groups under COVID-19 are advanced.

Have COVID-19 Stimulus Packages Mitigated the Negative Health Impacts of Pandemic-Related Job Losses? A Systematic Review of Global Evidence from the First Year of the Pandemic.

Social protection can buffer the negative impacts of unemployment on health. Have stimulus packages introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic mitigated potential harms to health from unemployment? We performed a systematic review of the health effects of job loss during the first year of the pandemic. We searched three electronic databases and identified 49 studies for inclusion. Three United States-based studies found that stimulus programs mitigated the impact of job loss on food security and mental health. Furloughs additionally appeared to reduce negative impacts when they were paid. However, despite the implementation of large-scale stimulus packages to reduce economic harms, we observed a clear pattern that job losses were nevertheless significantly associated with negative impacts, particularly on mental health, quality of life, and food security. We also observe suggestive evidence that COVID-related job loss was associated with child maltreatment, worsening dental health, and poor chronic disease outcomes. Overall, although we did find evidence that income-support policies appeared to help protect people from the negative health consequences of pandemic-related job loss, they were not sufficient to fully offset the threats to health. Future research should ascertain how to ensure adequate access to and generosity of social protection programs during epidemics and economic downturns.

Gimme shelter. Social distancing and income support in times of pandemic.

Stay-at-home orders feature high in the set of policies used to curb the spread of epidemics such as COVID-19, but are potentially less efficient among poor people who must continue to work during pandemics. We examine how income support programs help poor people comply with stay-at-home order and thereby generate positive health externalities. We use data on work-related mobility in 2020 and on poverty rates for 729 subnational regions of Africa, Latin America and Asia. We focus on within-country differential mobility changes between higher- and lower-poverty regions. Accounting for all time-variant country-level factors, we show that lockdowns have decreased mobility significantly less in poorer regions. In turn, emergency income support programs have helped reduce this difference, mitigating the regional poverty gap in virus exposure through work mobility.

Revisiting Poverty Trends and the Role of Social Protection Systems in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Quantifying the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on poverty in Africa has been as difficult as predicting the path of the pandemic, mainly due to data limitations. The advent of new data sources, including national accounts and phone survey data, provides an opportunity for a thorough reassessment of the impact of the pandemic and the subsequent expansion of social protection systems on the evolution of poverty in Africa. In this paper, we combine per capita GDP growth from national accounts with data from High-Frequency Phone Surveys for several countries to estimate the net impact of the pandemic on poverty. We find that the pandemic has increased poverty in Africa by 1.5 to 1.7 percentage points in 2020, relatively smaller than early estimates and projections. We also find that countries affected by Fragility, Conflict and Violence experienced the greatest increases in poverty, about 2.1 percentage points in 2020. Furthermore, we assess and synthesize empirical evidence on the role that social protection systems played in mitigating the adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis in Africa. We review social protection responses in various African countries, mainly focusing on the impact of these programs and effectiveness of targeting systems. Although the evidence base on the protective role of social protection programs during the pandemic remains scarce, we highlight important findings on the impacts of these programs while also uncovering some vulnerabilities in social protection programming in Africa. We finally draw important lessons related to the delivery, targeting and impact of various social protection programs launched in Africa in response to the pandemic.

Path dependence or steps for major reforms? Pandemic-related social protection measures in ten OECD countries

This article examines with empirical evidence the social protection measures implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in ten welfare states in the Global North. We analysed the potential similarities and differences in responses by welfare regimes. The comparative study was conducted with data from 169 measures, collected from domestic sources as well as from COVID-19 response databases and reports. In qualitative terms, we redeveloped Hall's theory on the distinction between first-, second- and third-order changes. In accordance with the path-dependence thesis, we show systematically that the majority of the studied changes (91%) relied on a pre-pandemic tool demonstrating flexibility within social security systems. The relative share of completely new instruments was notable but modest (9%). Thematically, the social protection measures converged beyond traditional welfare regimes, particularly among the European welfare states. Somewhat surprisingly, the changes to social security systems related not just to emergency aid to mitigate traditional risks but, to a greater extent, also to prevent new risks from being actualised.

Private transfers, public transfers, and food insecurity during the time of COVID-19: Evidence from Bangladesh

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest has grown in what kinds of assistance protect household food security during shocks. We study rural and urban Bangladesh from 2018 to 2019 to late 2021, assessing how pre-pandemic access to social safety net programs and private remittances relate to household food insecurity during the pandemic. Using longitudinal data and estimating differences-in-differences models with household fixed effects, we find that pre-pandemic access to social protection is associated with significant reductions in food insecurity in all rounds collected during the pandemic, particularly in our urban sample. However, pre-pandemic access to remittances shows no similar protective effect.

Social Work and Social Development Challenges to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This chapter provides an overview of social development strategies and social work responses to mitigate the human costs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Three responses were reviewed: social protection policies, humanitarian relief and mutual aid, social solidarity – including civil society responses – the impact of the pandemic on social workers and service delivery. The findings show an exponential expansion of social protection policies in all countries. While government provision was expansive, other non-state social arrangements were crucial to the response, although gaps in coverage remain. Building on these successes and progressively expanding coverage for all citizens while meeting the needs of the most disadvantaged remains a challenge. The pandemic has also accelerated the use of technology in service provision. The expansion of social protection in developing countries before the pandemic provided the foundation for country-level responses. While social work services are better integrated with social protection in some countries, there needs to be a better articulation between social assistance, labour market strategies, and social work services to address multi-dimensional human needs and improve social outcomes. The social development approach provides a sound platform for post-COVID recovery to build societal resilience and responsiveness to future pandemics of environmental and economic crises. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Experiences of Female-headed Households in the ADRA Cash Transfer Programme in Zvishavane, Zimbabwe

The social, economic, and political crises in Zimbabwe have resulted in extreme poverty and the female-headed families are no exception. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated poverty and food insecurity in rural households. This sudden shock was not anticipated, and many governments failed to sustain livelihoods for smallholder farmers who relied solely on farming activities and selling of farm produce. The state has failed to fulfil its basic mandate of social service provision to the most vulnerable sections of society. Consequently, the Basic Agricultural Assistance programme was introduced as a microeconomic stability tool to buffer income risks faced by the poor. The article aimed to discuss the experiences of female-headed households in the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer Programme in Nganunu Village in Zvishavane. A phenomenological research approach through an exploratory qualitative research design was used to get in-depth insights on the experiences of female-headed households. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to collect data. Content thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Findings indicated that despite health, political and economic crises, the implementation of the Adventist Development and Relief Agency cash transfer was a success in bridging the gap left by the collapse of the social welfare system. The cash transfer programme empowered female-headed households to access agricultural inputs timeously. Female-headed households were capacitated to make decisions and improve food security in and to initiate social cohesion with other beneficiaries. The study recommended inter-sectoral collaborations between state and non-state actors for more effective programmes that cushion female-headed households from poverty.

SURE: EU support to national short-term working schemes and its openness to non-standard workers

In response to the labour market effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Union (EU) implemented ‘Temporary Support to mitigate Unemployment Risks in an Emergency' (SURE). This instrument enables loans to be made under favourable conditions from the EU to affected Member States, covering part of their costs for national short-time work (STW) schemes or similar policies. In essence, STW prevents unemployment by helping employers to temporarily reduce the working hours of their personnel, while providing these employees with income support from the state for the hours not worked. During the COVID-19 crisis, non-standard workers in particular experienced job loss or a reduction of working hours, while often having inadequate access to social security. This article assesses the inclusiveness of SURE in terms of providing, via national STW, support to all workers. Firstly, it explores the options provided by the SURE Regulation to finance STW schemes which also cover non-standard workers. Secondly, it gives an EU-wide overview of which schemes and which types of workers have been supported. Thirdly, the paper analyses in detail how three Member States – Belgium, Cyprus and Poland – have used SURE to support non-standard and self-employed workers. The article adds to the currently scarce analyses on how SURE is used by countries with various STW systems. Moreover, it shows whether SURE may fit the growing EU focus on providing access to social security for all types of workers irrespective of their employment relationship, as for instance codified in the EU Pillar of Social Rights. © The Author(s) 2023.

Social Protection and SocialDeterminants of Health in COVID-19 and Related Disasters: What CanWe Do About Them?

Health of the populations and individual health statuses are influenced by their social position and social situations determine the health of people. In this sense, health is not only a ‘state' but also a resource that needs to be nurtured over people's lifetimes. Poverty, or lack of material resources impact health adversely and in particular, result in infectious diseases as people are forced to live in damp, crowded conditions. This is particularly relevant in the face of outbreaks of diseases that can shut down economies and force people into poverty where such conditions exacerbate. The SARS-COV-2 viral outbreak is a currently ongoing pandemic worldwide is a case in point. This has resulted in widespread lockdowns in different countries. While lockdown is used as containment measures to control the spread of the virus and limit viral infection, it also has the downstream effect of shutting down part or whole economies, thus leading to further worsening of poverty and social distress. The World Bank has estimated that in the wake of COVID-19, 60–70 million more poor people will be added to the pool of already existent poor population around the world, due to emergence of noveau poor. So what needs to be done? One possible way to address the problem of poverty and ill-health of societies in the wake of COVID-19 is to strengthen social protection measures. Social protection refers to the funds catering to the mix of programmes and policies governments establish to protect the vulnerable members of the society from poverty-related adverse life events and circumstances. These programmes prevent and mitigate adverse consequences of poverty by providing a scaffold so that people can lead a sustainable healthy life and maintain their mental, physical and social well-being. Beyond such protection, such programmes ensure inclusive and sustainable growth. Hence, the goal of this chapter is to examine social protection policies and develop models to address what may happen and what needs to be done to strengthen social protection systems for securing the health and well-being of vulnerable populations in the face of unforeseen phenomena such as natural disasters and outbreaks that threaten the structure of existent social protection and threaten the sustainability of the target populations. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

COVID-19 Pandemic and the Urban Poor: The Relevancy of Uganda's Social Protection Measures

Globally, governments are faced with the double challenge of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic while ensuring the social and economic survival of their citizens. The urban poor are uniquely affected by the impact of the pandemic, requiring comprehensive social protection measures to cushion the poor and vulnerable individuals and families. Informed by a social justice theoretical framework, this chapter focuses on the social protection responses by the Ugandan government against the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of protecting its vulnerable population against life-threatening social and economic risks, the Ugandan government has focused more on controlling the pandemic at the expense of other social services. Findings reveal the exclusionary nature of social protection measures and the tendency of relief strategies to benefit a few undeserving instead of the poor and needy individuals and families;shocks or crises can exacerbate inequalities, and so can policy responses to mitigate the impact of these crises or shocks. The chapter recommends adaptable and flexible social protection strategies that are underpinned by a social justice lens. The chapter further points to the need to establish a specific database to guide social protection for the most vulnerable for now and in case of future emergencies. This goal could be achieved through strengthening community surveillance to maintain the social protection during emergencies and the need for social safety nets for the most vulnerable in society, even in a liberalised society. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

Young People, COVID-19 and Social Protection

COVID-19 marks a significant generational moment for young people. The world as they knew it was transformed and perhaps will never be the same again. This transformation has impacted the world and people differently, young people included. In response to the pandemic, countries went into lockdown, economies plummeted, jobs were lost, university's shifted to online teaching and physical interaction was limited. Globally young people were impacted but some more so then others. These include, young people in precarious work (casual, part-time workers and university students that work), youth made unemployed as a direct result of COVID-19 and students in tertiary institutions whose future now looks bleaker then ever. This chapter draws on secondary resources to explore how young people in primarily New Zealand and the Pacific are being impacted by the pandemic and the associated consequences should they not have access to adequate social and economic protection. In high-income countries young people from deprived and marginal backgrounds are often most at risk. In lower and middle-income countries the lack of social protection measures places the majority of young people at risk. Resilience and the need for young people to adjust to economies in flux are often touted as a response. However, these places the responsibility on young people and undermines the immense contribution they currently make to their families and communities. The rest of the chapter explores some meaningful social protection strategies for young people that will ensure they live meaningful lives and act as a buffer to the potential of increased social problems like crime and civil unrest should societies fail to prioritise their wellbeing and livelihoods. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Locking down adolescent hunger: COVID-19 and food security in Bangladesh

Policy responses to slow the spread of COVID-19 have increased economic insecurity globally. We use panel data collected immediately before and during the COVID-19 pandemic with adolescents in Bangladesh to assess the association between COVID-19-related restrictions and adolescent hunger. One year into the pandemic, adolescents were three-fold more likely to report hunger, and households were twice as likely to report cutting back food to adolescents compared to before COVID-19 restrictions. Vulnerable households experienced larger increases in hunger and reductions in food consumption, with girls more adversely affected than boys. Cash and food aid were unable to mitigate these negative trends. © 2023 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association.

Ageing, Vulnerability and COVID-19

COVID-19 has had a destructive ripple effect on all aspects of society but with a more drastic impact on the most vulnerable and dependent on government services through social protection mechanisms. Among these is population ageing. Already in need and facing challenges of healthy ageing and dependent, especially in Pacific Island countries, on traditional family relations, the general shrinking of resources including able-bodied family members presents a crisis of livelihood for ageing parents. In Fiji, government social schemes have proven inadequate and open up spaces for the resurgence of charity, reciprocity and the "moral economy” as enduring Pacific values. Where then does social protection go from here? This is the question of our times. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021.

Negotiated and Involuntary Return: COVID-19 Pandemic and Return Migration of Bangladeshi Temporary Labour Migrant Men

This paper investigates return migration of Bangladeshi temporary labour migrant men in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on a case study of Bangladeshi migrants, who are mostly occupied in low and semi-skilled labour-intensive markets in the Middle East and the Southeast Asian countries, this paper assesses the relational aspect between pandemic and return. It discusses the underlying reasons of pandemic induced return which is based on a fieldwork, conducted in 2021, with the Bangladeshi returnee migrants. It argues that migrant receiving states' exploitative policies-burgeoning labour market nationalisation and lack of social and legal protection mechanisms-are the overriding reasons of return, rather than the pandemic. Whilst the pandemic intensified these existing exclusionary policies, this paper depicts how the migrants conform to the policies of migrant receiving states through rigid visa regime, heightened labour market immobility, retrenchment, and wage theft, which resulted in return migration. © 2023 Transnational Press London Ltd. All rights reserved.