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The 1918-20 influenza pandemic: A retrospective in the time of COVID-19The influenza pandemic of 1918 (the Spanish Flu) is by far the greatest humanitarian disaster caused by an infectious disease in modern history. It infected over a quarter of the world’s population and killed over 50 million people...
COVID-19 Pandemic Spanish fluBook
The 1918–20 influenza pandemic: A retrospective in the time of COVID-19The pandemic of 1918–20 — commonly known as the Spanish flu — infected over a quarter of the world's population and killed over fifty million people...
Pandemic COVID-19 socioeconomic consequencesWorking Paper
Rebel governance during COVID-19: Describing and explaining armed groups’ response to the pandemic in the Middle EastAs COVID-19 spread worldwide, armed groups in control of territory were called to address the health emergency. However, our knowledge in this regard is limited...
Armed conflict COVID-19 Middle East and North AfricaWorking Paper
The role of tax–benefit systems in protecting household incomes in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemicThe COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected household incomes around the world. In developed economies, pre-pandemic tax–benefit policies and emergency transfers mitigated to a large extent the negative income shock...
Taxes Benefits COVID-19Journal Article
COVID-19 and the state: Exploring a puzzling relationship in the early stages of the pandemicTHIS ARTICLE IS ON EARLY VIEW | During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was wealthier countries with stronger institutions that suffered the highest numbers of cases and fatalities...
COVID-19 the state PandemicWorking Paper
Agricultural risks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and farm household welfare and diversification strategies in AfricaAgricultural activities in many African countries are bedevilled by a range of risk factors...
Risk COVID-19 Household welfareWorking Paper
The effect of wage subsidies on job retention: Evidence from South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemicWage subsidies have served as a primary labour market policy used around the world to mitigate job losses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic...
COVID-19 South Africa Labour marketBlog
Electoral politics and Mexico’s COVID-19 vaccine roll-outGovernment responsiveness is an integral feature of representative democracy. Its importance could be amplified in times of crisis, especially if citizens cannot rely on market actors for help...
COVID-19 COVID-19 policy response COVID-19 vaccineWorking Paper
Impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns and aid packages: Evidence from Viet NamIn view of the detrimental effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on household welfare, most countries implemented economic stimulus aid packages to support households...
COVID-19 Social assistance LockdownWorking Paper
Digital labour platforms as shock absorbers: Evidence from COVID-19Digital labour platforms have grown five-fold over the last decade, enabling significant expansion in gig work worldwide. We interrogate the criticism that these platforms tend to amplify aggregate economic shocks for registered users (workers)...
COVID-19 Digital labour platforms Labour marketWorking Paper
Who was impacted and how? COVID-19 pandemic and the long uneven recovery in IndiaWe investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on income levels, poverty, and inequality in both the immediate aftermath and during the uneven recovery until December 2021 using high-frequency household survey data from India...
COVID-19 Poverty InequalityWorking Paper
Social protection expansions during crisis and fiscal space: From ad hoc to durable solutions?This study provides a first attempt to contribute a large-scale assessment of whether crisis response as observed during the COVID-19 pandemic can serve as a feasible blueprint for creating durable solutions across countries...
Social protection Tax revenue COVID-19Working Paper
Physical proximity and occupational employment change by gender during the COVID-19 pandemicPrevious economic downturns such as the 2008–09 Global Financial Crisis disproportionately affected male employment due to greater contractions in industries typically filled by men (e.g., manufacturing)...
COVID-19 Gender EmploymentWorking Paper
The pandemic and the state: Interrogating capacity and response to COVID-19 in West BengalCOVID-19 has brought to the fore the issue of state preparedness in mitigating health emergencies. This paper problematizes the received wisdom of greater state capacity in mitigating the severity of the pandemic...
COVID-19 West Bengal State capacityWorking Paper
Peruvian response to COVID-19 pandemic: The role of evidence-based governance and structural violenceWhy does a state like Peru, dedicated to fulfilling development goals and sustained good macroeconomic performance, appear incapable of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic?...
Maternal mortality Targeting COVID-19Working Paper
Social distress and (some) relief: Estimating the impact of pandemic job loss on poverty in South AfricaUp-to-date, nationally representative household income/expenditure data are crucial to estimating poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic and to policy-making more broadly, but South Africa lacks such data...
COVID-19 Poverty Labour market