abstract: 'We combine new data from high-frequency surveys with data on the

  stringency of containment measures to examine the short-term impacts of

  the COVID-19 pandemic on households in developing countries. This paper

  is one of the first to document the impacts of COVID-19 on households

  across a large number of developing countries and to do so for a

  comparable time-period, corresponding to the peak of the

  pandemic-induced drop in human mobility, and the first to systematically

  analyze the cross- and within-country effects on employment, income,

  food security and learning. Using representative data from 31 countries,

  accounting for a combined population of almost 1.4 billion, we find that

  in the average country 36 percent of respondents stopped working in the

  immediate aftermath of the pandemic, 65 percent of households reported

  decreases in income, and 30 percent of children were unable to continue

  learning during school closures. Pandemic-induced jobs and income losses

  translated into heightened food insecurity at the household level. The

  more stringent the virus containment measures, the higher the likelihood

  of jobs and income losses. The pandemic''s effects were widespread and

  regressive, disproportionally affecting vulnerable segments of the

  population. Women, youth, and workers without higher education - groups

  disadvantaged in the labor market before the COVID-19 shock - were

  significantly more likely to lose their jobs and experience decreased

  incomes. Self-employed and casual workers the most vulnerable workers in

  developing countries - bore the brunt of the pandemic-induced income

  losses. Interruptions in learning were most salient for children from

  lower-income countries, and within countries for children from

  lower-income households with lower-educated parents and in rural areas.

  The unequal impacts of the pandemic across socio-economic groups risk

  cementing inequality of opportunity and undermining social mobility and

  calls for policies to foster an inclusive recovery and strengthen

  resilience to future shocks. (C) 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd.'
affiliation: 'Bundervoet, T (Corresponding Author), World Bank Grp, Washington, DC
  20433 USA.

  Bundervoet, Tom; Davalos, Maria E.; Garcia, Natalia, World Bank Grp, Washington,
  DC 20433 USA.'
article-number: '105844'
author: Bundervoet, Tom and Davalos, Maria E. and Garcia, Natalia
author-email: tbundervoet@worldbank.org
author_list:
- family: Bundervoet
  given: Tom
- family: Davalos
  given: Maria E.
- family: Garcia
  given: Natalia
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105844
earlyaccessdate: FEB 2022
eissn: 1873-5991
esi-highly-cited-paper: Y
esi-hot-paper: N
files: []
issn: 0305-750X
journal: WORLD DEVELOPMENT
keywords-plus: UNEMPLOYMENT; SCARS
language: English
month: MAY
number-of-cited-references: '40'
papis_id: b688dfad2a20efa129a669fe11ec4a66
ref: Bundervoet2022shorttermimpacts
times-cited: '31'
title: 'The short-term impacts of COVID-19 on households in developing countries:
  An overview based on a harmonized dataset of high-frequency surveys'
type: Article
unique-id: WOS:000821338300018
usage-count-last-180-days: '4'
usage-count-since-2013: '13'
volume: '153'
web-of-science-categories: Development Studies; Economics
year: '2022'