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Poverty and COVID-19 in Developing Countries

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  • Olivier BARGAIN
  • Ulugbek AMINJONOV

Abstract

In March 2020, shelter-in-place and social-distancing policies have been enforced or recommended all over the world to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. However, strict containment is hardly achievable in low-income countries, as large parts of population are forced to continue income-generating activities to escape extreme poverty or hunger. To assess the trade-off between poverty and a higher risk of catching COVID-19, we use regional mobility to work and poverty rates across 241 regions of 9 countries from Latin America and Africa. With a difference-in-difference approach around the time of lockdown announcements, we mea-sure the differential time variation in work mobility between high and low-poverty regions. We find that the degree of work mobility reduction is significantly driven by the intensity of poverty. Consistently, human movements vary significantly more between poverty levels when it come to work rather than less vital activities. We also estimate how higher poverty rates translate into a faster spread of COVID-19 cases through the channel of work mobility.

Suggested Citation

  • Olivier BARGAIN & Ulugbek AMINJONOV, 2020. "Poverty and COVID-19 in Developing Countries," Bordeaux Economics Working Papers 2020-08, Bordeaux School of Economics (BSE).
    • Handle: RePEc:grt:bdxewp:2020-08
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Wright, Austin L. & Sonin, Konstantin & Driscoll, Jesse & Wilson, Jarnickae, 2020. "Poverty and economic dislocation reduce compliance with COVID-19 shelter-in-place protocols," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 544-554.
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    3. Kathleen Beegle & Aline Coudouel & Emma Monsalve, 2018. "Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa [Les filets sociaux en Afrique comment realiser pleinement leur potential?]," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 29789, December.
    4. Robalino, David A., 2020. "The COVID-19 Conundrum in the Developing World: Protecting Lives or Protecting Jobs?," IZA Discussion Papers 13136, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ugo Gentilini & Mohamed Almenfi & Ian Orton & Pamela Dale, 2020. "Social Protection and Jobs Responses to COVID-19," World Bank Publications - Reports 33635, The World Bank Group.
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    Cited by:

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    3. Jess Jones, 2022. "An Ethnographic Examination of People’s Reactions to State-Led COVID-19 Measures in Sierra Leone," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(1), pages 455-472, February.
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    5. Berniell, Inés & Facchini, Gabriel, 2021. "COVID-19 lockdown and domestic violence: Evidence from internet-search behavior in 11 countries," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    6. Caitlin S. Brown & Martin Ravallion, 2020. "Inequality and the Coronavirus: Socioeconomic Covariates of Behavioral Responses and Viral Outcomes Across US Counties," NBER Working Papers 27549, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    8. Amare, Mulubrhan & Abay, Kibrom A. & Tiberti, Luca & Chamberlin, Jordan, 2021. "COVID-19 and food security: Panel data evidence from Nigeria," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; poverty; lockdown; compliance; work mobility;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E71 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on the Macro Economy
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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