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Labour market effects of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: An informality lens from Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal

Author

Listed:
  • Balde, Racky

    (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University)

  • Boly, Mohamed

    (Universite Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, IRD, CERDI)

  • Avenyo, Elvis

    (UNU-MERIT, Maastricht University, and Department of International Development, University of Oxford)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global crisis that has put a local spotlight on sub-Saharan Africa’s socio-economic challenges. This paper presents real time survey evidence on the labour market effects of COVID-19 in Senegal, Mali, and Burkina Faso. We investigate how informality exacerbates the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on job loss, decrease in earnings, and difficulties for individuals to support their basic needs. We document a reduction in economic activities and find that workers in the informal economy tend to be more hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Informal workers are more likely to lose their jobs and tend to experience decrease in earnings. These findings also hold for those who work in high-risk sectors. Informal workers equally appear to be more likely to struggle to meet their basic needs in the midst of the pandemic. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.

Suggested Citation

  • Balde, Racky & Boly, Mohamed & Avenyo, Elvis, 2020. "Labour market effects of COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa: An informality lens from Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal," MERIT Working Papers 2020-022, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    • Handle: RePEc:unm:unumer:2020022
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    File URL: https://www.merit.unu.edu/publications/wppdf/2020/wp2020-022.pdf
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    As found on the RePEc Biblio, the curated bibliography for Economics:
    1. > Economics of Welfare > Health Economics > Economics of Pandemics > Specific pandemics > Covid-19 > Developing economies

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    Cited by:

    1. Al Mouskit Akim & Firmin Ayivodji & Jeffrey Kouton, 2021. "Do Remittances Mitigate COVID-19 Employment Shock on Food Insecurity? Evidence from Nigeria," Working Papers 4, Africa Institute for Research in Economics and Social Sciences.
    2. Surbhi Kesar & Snehashish Bhattacharya & Lopamudra Banerjee, 2020. "Contradictions and crisis in the world of work in the present conjuncture: Informality, precarity and the pandemic," Working Papers 253, Department of Economics, SOAS University of London, UK, revised Oct 2022.
    3. Simone Schotte & Michael Danquah & Robert Darko Osei & Kunal Sen, 2021. "The labour market impact of COVID-19 lockdowns: Evidence from Ghana," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-27, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Martha Alter CHEN & Erofili GRAPSA & Ghida ISMAIL & Michael ROGAN & Marcela VALDIVIA & Laura ALFERS & Jenna HARVEY & Ana Carolina OGANDO & Sarah Orleans REED & Sally ROEVER, 2022. "COVID‐19 and informal work: Evidence from 11 cities," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 161(1), pages 29-58, March.
    5. Köhler, Timothy & Bhorat, Haroon & Hill, Robert & Stanwix, Benjamin, 2023. "Lockdown stringency and employment formality: evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 57, pages 1-3.
    6. Simone Schotte & Michael Danquah & Robert Darko Osei & Kunal Sen, 2023. "The Labour Market Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns: Evidence from Ghana," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 10-33.
    7. Sam Jones & Ivan Manhique, 2021. "Informal freelancers in the time of COVID-19: Insights from a digital matching platform in Mozambique," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-95, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. Nolte, Kerstin & Sipangule, Kacana & Wendt, Niels, 2022. "Agricultural households in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, livelihoods and land-use decisions," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 261843, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    9. Altenburg, Tilman & Brandi, Clara & Pegels, Anna & Stamm, Andreas & Vrolijk, Kasper & Zintl, Tina, 2021. "Does COVID-19 change the long-term prospects of latecomer industrialisation?," IDOS Discussion Papers 32/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    10. Takyi, Paul Owusu & Bentum-Ennin, Isaac, 2021. "The impact of COVID-19 on stock market performance in Africa: A Bayesian structural time series approach," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    11. Nam, Minhyuk & Lee, Soohyung, 2021. "COVID-19 and Employment in South Korea: Trends and Comparison with the 2008 Financial Crisis," IZA Discussion Papers 14101, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Jha, P.K. & Araya, A. & Stewart, Z.P. & Faye, A. & Traore, H. & Middendorf, B.J. & Prasad, P.V.V., 2021. "Projecting potential impact of COVID-19 on major cereal crops in Senegal and Burkina Faso using crop simulation models," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    13. Bolarin, Olufemi & Komolafe, Sola Emmanuel & Ajiboye, Damilola John, 2022. "Adaptation Strategies of Small-Scale Farmers to Challenges of COVID-19 Pandemic in Osun State, Nigeria," Problems of World Agriculture / Problemy Rolnictwa Światowego, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, vol. 22(1), March.
    14. Joshi, Nupur & Lopus, Sara & Hannah, Corrie & Ernst, Kacey C. & Kilungo, Aminata P. & Opiyo, Romanus & Ngayu, Margaret & Davies, Julia & Evans, Tom, 2022. "COVID-19 lockdowns: Employment and business disruptions, water access and hygiene practices in Nairobi's informal settlements," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    15. Yaya Koloma, 2021. "COVID‐19, financing and sales decline of informal sector MSMEs in Senegal," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(S1), pages 207-220, April.
    16. Simone Schotte & Rocco Zizzamia, 2021. "The livelihood impacts of COVID-19 in urban South Africa: A view from below," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-56, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    17. Michael Danquah & Simone Schotte & Kunal Sen, 2020. "COVID-19 and Employment: Insights from the Sub-Saharan African Experience," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(1), pages 23-30, October.
    18. Nolte, Kerstin & Sipangule, Kacana & Wendt, Niels, 2022. "Agricultural households in times of crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, livelihoods and land-use decisions," Open Access Publications from Kiel Institute for the World Economy 266633, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Crisis; Labour Market; Informality; Africa;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J46 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Informal Labor Market
    • J63 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O55 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Africa

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