The Coronavirus Pandemic and Food Security : Evidence from West Africa
This paper documents some of the first estimates of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on food security in a low- and middle-income country context. It combines nationally representative pre- pandemic household survey data with follow-up phone...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/594491605102982608/The-Coronavirus-Pandemic-and-Food-Security-Evidence-from-West-Africa http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34775 |
| Summary: | This paper documents some of the first
estimates of the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on food
security in a low- and middle-income country context. It
combines nationally representative pre- pandemic household
survey data with follow-up phone survey data from Mali and
exploits sub- national variation in the intensity of
pandemic-related disruptions between urban and rural areas.
These disruptions stem from both government policies aiming
to slow the spread of the virus and also individual behavior
motivated by fear of contracting the virus. The paper finds
evidence of increasing food insecurity in Mali associated
with the pandemic. Difference-in-difference estimates show
that moderate food insecurity increased by about 8
percentage points -- a 33 percent increase -- in urban areas
compared with rural areas in Mali. The estimates are
substantially larger than existing predictions of the
average effect of the pandemic on food security globally and
therefore highlights the critical importance of
understanding effect heterogeneity. |
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