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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor: Insights from the Hrishipara diaries

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  • Risto Rönkkö
  • Stuart Rutherford
  • Kunal Sen

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the livelihoods of the poor. We use an unusually rich data set from a 'financial diaries' study known as the Hrishipara Daily Diaries Project. The data set tracks the economic and financial transactions of 60 individuals and their families in a semi-rural setting in Bangladesh on a real-time basis from October 2019 to September 2020. We document individual diarists' behavioural responses to COVID-19, which reveal the varied experiences of the poor during the pandemic.

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  • Risto Rönkkö & Stuart Rutherford & Kunal Sen, 2021. "The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the poor: Insights from the Hrishipara diaries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2021-46, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2021-46
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    8. Kashif Malik & Muhammad Meki & Jonathan Morduch & Timothy Ogden & Simon Quinn & Farah Said, 0. "COVID-19 and the future of microfinance: evidence and insights from Pakistan," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 138-168.
    9. Jean N. Lee & Jonathan Morduch & Saravana Ravindran & Abu Shonchoy & Hassan Zaman, 2021. "Poverty and Migration in the Digital Age: Experimental Evidence on Mobile Banking in Bangladesh," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 38-71, January.
    10. Kansiime, Monica K. & Tambo, Justice A. & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Kara, Augustine & Owuor, Charles, 2021. "COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Manyong, Victor & Bokanga, Mpoko & Akonkwa Nyamuhirwa, Dieu-Merci & Bamba, Zoumana & Adeoti, Razack & Mwepu, Gregoire & Cole, Steven M. & Dontsop Nguezet, Paul Martin, 2022. "COVID-19 outbreak and rural household food security in the Western Democratic Republic of the Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    2. Jana Hamdan & Yuanwei Xu, 2022. "COVID-19 Lockdown Compliance, Financial Stress, and Acceleration in Technology Adoption in Rural Uganda," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2007, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Shrabani Saha & Kunal Sen, 2022. "Corruption and crisis: do institutions matter?," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2022-37, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Olive Umuhire Nsababera & Vibhuti Mendiratta & Hannah Sam, 2023. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Household Welfare in the Comoros: The Experience of a Small Island Developing State," Global Perspectives on Wealth and Distribution, in: Shirley Johnson-Lans (ed.), The Coronavirus Pandemic and Inequality, chapter 0, pages 141-195, Palgrave Macmillan.
    5. Saha, Shrabani & Sen, Kunal, 2023. "Do economic and political crises lead to corruption? The role of institutions," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Lockdown; Livelihoods; Bangladesh; Pandemic;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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