IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/diedps/332021.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Strupat, Christoph

Abstract

This paper examines empirically whether social protection in the form of adapted social assistance programmes are affecting social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using unique primary data from nationally representative, in-person surveys from Kenya allows for the exploration of the effect of social protection on attributes of social cohesion (trust, cooperation and identity). The analysis employs a difference-in-differences approach that compares households with and without social assistance coverage before and after the first wave of the pandemic. The findings suggest that social assistance can have a positive effect on attributes of social cohesion, but only in regions that faced larger restrictions due to lockdown policies. Turning to the analysis without focusing on lockdown regions, social assistance does not affect attributes of social cohesion. Overall, the results suggest that only under specific circumstances existing national social assistance programmes and their adaptation in times of large covariate shocks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, can be beneficial for social cohesion.

Suggested Citation

  • Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," IDOS Discussion Papers 33/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), revised 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:diedps:332021
    DOI: 10.23661/dp33.2021.v2.0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/271663/1/die-dp33-2021rev.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.23661/dp33.2021.v2.0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Richard Blundell & Monica Costa Dias, 2009. "Alternative Approaches to Evaluation in Empirical Microeconomics," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(3).
    2. Leininger, Julia & Burchi, Francesco & Fiedler, Charlotte & Mross, Karina & Nowack, Daniel & von Schiller, Armin & Sommer, Christoph & Strupat, Christoph & Ziaja, Sebastian, 2021. "Social cohesion: A new definition and a proposal for its measurement in Africa," IDOS Discussion Papers 31/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), revised 2021.
    3. Tessa Hochfeld & Sophie Plagerson, 2011. "Dignity and Stigma among South African Female Cash Transfer Recipients," IDS Bulletin, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 42(6), pages 53-59, November.
    4. Arnim Langer & Frances Stewart & Kristien Smedts & Leila Demarest, 2017. "Conceptualising and Measuring Social Cohesion in Africa: Towards a Perceptions-Based Index," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 131(1), pages 321-343, March.
    5. Sara Pavanello & Carol Watson & W. Onyango-Ouma & Paul Bukuluki, 2016. "Effects of Cash Transfers on Community Interactions: Emerging Evidence," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(8), pages 1147-1161, August.
    6. World Bank, 2020. "COVID-19 Impact Monitoring," World Bank Publications - Reports 34213, The World Bank Group.
    7. Garcia-Mandicó, Sílvia & Reichert, Arndt & Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The Social Value of Health Insurance: Results from Ghana," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    8. World Bank, 2020. "COVID-19 Impact Monitoring," World Bank Publications - Reports 34402, The World Bank Group.
    9. Evans, David K. & Holtemeyer, Brian & Kosec, Katrina, 2019. "Cash transfers increase trust in local government," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 138-155.
    10. Strupat, Christoph & Klohn, Florian, 2018. "Crowding out of solidarity? Public health insurance versus informal transfer networks in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 212-221.
    11. David Schiefer & Jolanda Noll, 2017. "The Essentials of Social Cohesion: A Literature Review," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 132(2), pages 579-603, June.
    12. François Gerard & Clément Imbert & Kate Orkin, 0. "Social protection response to the COVID-19 crisis: options for developing countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 281-296.
    13. Bottan, Nicolas & Hoffmann, Bridget & Vera-Cossio, Diego A., 2021. "Stepping up during a crisis: The unintended effects of a noncontributory pension program during the Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    14. World Bank, 2020. "Kenya Public Expenditure Review 2020," World Bank Publications - Reports 34052, The World Bank Group.
    15. Attanasio, Orazio & Polania-Reyes, Sandra & Pellerano, Luca, 2015. "Building social capital: Conditional cash transfers and cooperation," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 22-39.
    16. Joseph Chan & Ho-Pong To & Elaine Chan, 2006. "Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 273-302, January.
    17. François Gerard & Clément Imbert & Kate Orkin, 2020. "Social protection response to the COVID-19 crisis: options for developing countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 281-296.
    18. World Bank, 2020. "The COVID-19 Pandemic [Pandémie De Covid-19]," World Bank Publications - Reports 33696, The World Bank Group.
    19. Daniel Zerfu & Precious Zikhali & Innocent Kabenga, 2009. "Does Ethnicity Matter for Trust? Evidence from Africa," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 18(1), pages 153-175, January.
    20. Juan M. Villa, 2016. "diff: Simplifying the estimation of difference-in-differences treatment effects," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 16(1), pages 52-71, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stefan Beierl & Marina Dodlova, 2022. "Public Works Programmes and Cooperation for the Common Good: Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1264-1284, June.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Christoph Strupat, 2022. "Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Times of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1320-1357, June.
    2. Francesco Burchi & Markus Loewe & Daniele Malerba & Julia Leininger, 2022. "Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Protection and Social Cohesion: Introduction to the Special Issue," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1195-1215, June.
    3. Strupat, Christoph, 2021. "The preserving effect of social protection on social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Kenya," MPRA Paper 111501, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Francesco Burchi & Federico Roscioli, 2022. "Can Integrated Social Protection Programmes Affect Social Cohesion? Mixed-Methods Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1240-1263, June.
    5. Fiedler, Charlotte & Mross, Karina & Berg, Anna & Bhattarai, Prakash & Drees, Dorothea & Kornprobst, Tim & Leibbrandt, Alexandra & Liegmann, Philipp & Riebsamen, Maleen, 2022. "What role do local elections play for societal peace in Nepal? Evidence from post-conflict Nepal," IDOS Discussion Papers 4/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    6. Yabibal M. Walle, 2023. "Social Cohesion and Firms’ Access to Finance in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 27-46, June.
    7. Stefan Beierl & Marina Dodlova, 2022. "Public Works Programmes and Cooperation for the Common Good: Evidence from Malawi," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1264-1284, June.
    8. Francesco Burchi & Armin von Schiller & Christoph Strupat, 2020. "Social protection and revenue collection: How they can jointly contribute to strengthening social cohesion," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(3), pages 13-32, July.
    9. Walle, Yabibal Mulualem, 2022. "Determinants of social cohesion: Cross-country evidence," IDOS Discussion Papers 18/2022, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    10. Keetie Roelen & Carmen Leon-Himmelstine & Sung Kyu Kim, 2022. "Chicken or Egg? A Bi-directional Analysis of Social Protection and Social Cohesion in Burundi and Haiti," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1216-1239, June.
    11. Guerrero-Amezaga, Maria Elena & Humphries, John Eric & Neilson, Christopher A. & Shimberg, Naomi & Ulyssea, Gabriel, 2022. "Small firms and the pandemic: Evidence from Latin America," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Ollendorf, Franziska & Sieber, Stefan & Löhr, Katharina, 2023. "Societal dynamics of sustainability certification in Ghanaian cocoa producing communities: Assessing social cohesion effects and their implications for collective action," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 47(2), pages 212-238.
    13. Bujar Aruqaj, 2023. "An Integrated Approach to the Conceptualisation and Measurement of Social Cohesion," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 168(1), pages 227-263, August.
    14. Burchi, Francesco & Roscioli, Federico, 2021. "Can integrated social protection programmes affect social cohesion? Mixed-methods evidence from Malawi," IDOS Discussion Papers 3/2021, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS).
    15. Marek Walesiak & Grażyna Dehnel, 2023. "A Measurement of Social Cohesion in Poland’s NUTS2 Regions in the Period 2010–2019 by Applying Dynamic Relative Taxonomy to Interval-Valued Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    16. Marek Walesiak & Grażyna Dehnel, 2020. "The Measurement of Social Cohesion at Province Level in Poland Using Metric and Interval-Valued Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-19, September.
    17. Loewe, Markus & Zintl, Tina & Fritzenkötter, Jörn & Gantner, Verena & Kaltenbach, Regina & Pohl, Lena, 2020. "Community effects of cash-for-work programmes in Jordan: Supporting social cohesion, more equitable gender roles and local economic development in contexts of flight and migration," IDOS Studies, German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), volume 103, number 103.
    18. Markus Loewe & Tina Zintl, 2021. "State Fragility, Social Contracts and the Role of Social Protection: Perspectives from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-23, November.
    19. Louis Moustakas, 2022. "Sport for Social Cohesion: Transferring from the Pitch to the Community?," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, November.
    20. Sansone, Dario, 2019. "Pink work: Same-sex marriage, employment and discrimination," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    social protection; social assistance; social cohesion; COVID-19; Kenya;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:diedps:332021. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ditubde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.