Immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on household economic activities and food security in Tajikistan.

Using a nationally representative monthly survey, administered both before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper provides estimates of household responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Tajikistan, focusing on (i) short-term dynamic impacts on household economic outcomes and food security, (ii) heterogenous effects across different households, and (iii) coping with income shocks resulted from the pandemic. Parametric and non-parametric event studies are estimated to quantify the short-run dynamic impacts of the pandemic on household activities. The findings show that household employment and income dropped, and food insecurity immediately worsened with the first confirmed COVID-19 cases and continues to deteriorate six months into the pandemic in Tajikistan. The extent of the impacts varies depending on locations, pre-pandemic income levels, and household sizes. In response to the income shock brought about by the pandemic, households increased borrowings and reduced food and health expenditures. These results are robust to different specifications.

Projection of the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Welfare of Remittance-Dependent Households in the Philippines.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inevitably affecting remittance-dependent countries through economic downturns in the destination countries, and restrictions on travel and sending remittances to their home country. We explore the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of remittance-dependent households using a dataset collected in the Philippines prior to the outbreak. First, we confirm that remittances are associated with welfare of households, particularly for those whose head is male or lower educated. Then, we use the revision of the 2020 GDP projections before and after the COVID-19 crisis to gauge potential impacts on households caused by the pandemic. We find that remittance inflow will decrease by 14-20% and household spending per capita will decline by 1-2% (food expenditure per capita by 2-3%) in one year as a result of the pandemic.