How the pandemic has impacted the world’s most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income economies

  • Date: 13-Jul-2021
  • Source: Business Insider
  • Sector:Economy
  • Country:Middle East
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How the pandemic has impacted the world’s most vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income economies

The COVID-19 crisis has been devastating for much of the global economy. Yet while the effects on established markets have been well-documented, less is known about the pandemic's impacts on low- and middle-income countries, which account for the majority of the world's population. This is partly because official statistics generally fail to capture the impact on informal markets, such as street-vendor sales, in which large sections of those economies participate. So Kellogg finance professor and Northwestern professor of economics , , set out to measure the pandemic's economic impact in low- and middle-income countries. "These are the world's most vulnerable people," said Karlan, who along with Udry codirects Kellogg's . "The level of vulnerability is just fundamentally different in developing countries versus US and Europe, where even if someone is really low-income, they're still better off than the poorest of the poor in developing countries, where the safety nets simply aren't as strong." "We wanted to know the effect of the pandemic, and government policies to combat it, on individuals who rely on informal markets to sustain themselves and don't have access to formal support mechanisms like social security or unemployment insurance," Udry said. Based on a phone survey of