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Adapting to an aggregate shock: The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on rural households

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  • Mahreen Mahmud

    (University of Exeter)

  • Emma Riley

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

We examine the response of rural Ugandan households to a large aggregate shock, the Covid-19 pandemic, during and one year after the first lockdown in March 2020. Using 6 rounds of phone surveys from 558 households in western Uganda, we find that household income recovery from the lockdown differs by whether households had a business pre-pandemic. After an initial sharp fall, the incomes of those without a business have recovered to pre-pandemic levels. However, the relatively better-off households with a business before the pandemic still have one-third lower income, due to sustained closure of businesses even after the end of the first lockdown restrictions. Additionally, business-owning households have 30% lower wealth one-year into the pandemic, driven by 44% lower assets, 45% drop in savings, and a 15 fold increase in net-borrowing, suggesting long-term damage. Our findings point to the need to support households who face dwindling finances to fall back on.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahreen Mahmud & Emma Riley, 2023. "Adapting to an aggregate shock: The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on rural households," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 19-36, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:21:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s11150-022-09625-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-022-09625-7
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Aggregate shock; COVID-19; Sub-Saharan Africa; Household welfare;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets

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