ABSTRACT
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.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/economics , COVID-19/epidemiology , Developing Countries/economics , Employment/trends , Income/trends , Pandemics/economics , SARS-CoV-2 , Adult , Africa/epidemiology , Agriculture/economics , Asia/epidemiology , COVID-19/virology , Child , Colombia/epidemiology , Domestic Violence , Economic Recession , Family Characteristics , Female , Food Insecurity/economics , Government Programs/economics , Humans , Male , Seasons , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
The effects of marriage between biological relatives on the incidence of childhood genetic illness and mortality are of major policy significance, as rates of consanguinity exceed 50% in various countries. Empirical research on this question is complicated by the fact that consanguinity is often correlated with poverty and other unobserved characteristics of households, which may have independent effects on mortality. This study has developed an instrumental variables empirical strategy to re-examine this question, based on the concept that the availability of unmarried cousins of the opposite gender at the time of marriage creates quasi-random variation in the propensity to marry consanguineously. Using primary data collected in Bangladesh in 2006-07 and Pakistan in 2009-10, the study found that previous estimates of the impact of consanguinity on child health were biased and falsely precise. The study also empirically investigated the social and economic causes of consanguinity (including marital quality) and concludes that marrying a cousin can have positive economic effects for one's natal family, by allowing deferral of dowry payments until after marriage.
Subject(s)
Consanguinity , Health Status , Socioeconomic Factors , Bangladesh , Child , Child Health/statistics & numerical data , Correlation of Data , Female , Genetic Diseases, Inborn/epidemiology , Genetic Diseases, Inborn/mortality , Humans , Male , Marriage , Pakistan , Survival RateABSTRACT
We study the effect of social and financial incentives on communities' ability to overcome collective action problems. Our specific context is a sample of 107 villages (approximately 19,000 households) in rural Bangladesh, and the collective action problem we study is investment in hygienic latrines and their subsequent maintenance and use. We randomized (1) whether and what type of incentive was provided a financial reward or a non-financial "social recognition" reward, and (2) whether and what type of verbal commitment the households were encouraged to make a private pledge vs. a public pledge. We measure short-term (3 months) and medium-term (12-15 months) effects, and investigate the mechanisms behind the effects.
Subject(s)
Septic Latrines/methods , Basic Sanitation/organization & administration , BangladeshABSTRACT
We study the effect of social and financial incentives on communities' ability to overcome collective action problems. Our specific context is a sample of 107 villages (approximately 19,000 households) in rural Bangladesh, and the collective action problem we study is investment in hygienic latrines and their subsequent maintenance and use. We randomized (1) whether and what type of incentive was provided a financial reward or a non-financial "social recognition" reward, and (2) whether and what type of verbal commitment the households were encouraged to make a private pledge vs. a public pledge. We measure short-term (3 months) and medium-term (12-15 months) effects, and investigate the mechanisms behind the effects.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Female , Child , Adolescent , Adult , Middle Aged , Aged , Rural Sanitation , Rural Health/economics , Healthcare Financing , Bangladesh/ethnologyABSTRACT
We study the effect of social and financial incentives on communities' ability to overcome collective action problems. Our specific context is a sample of 107 villages (approximately 19,000 households) in rural Bangladesh, and the collective action problem we study is investment in hygienic latrines and their subsequent maintenance and use. We randomized (1) whether and what type of incentive was provided a financial reward or a non-financial "social recognition" reward, and (2) whether and what type of verbal commitment the households were encouraged to make a private pledge vs. a public pledge. We measure short-term (3 months) and medium-term (12-15 months) effects, and investigate the mechanisms behind the effects.
