Current Research
List viewEconomists from around the world are using real time data collection to better understand the impact the Covid-19 crisis is having on families, workers, firms and society, and how policies can help the recovery out of the crisis. Find out more about how these research teams are carrying out their projects, and what their findings are below.
Responding to the Covid-19 domestic abuse crisis: developing a rapid police evidence base
The proposed project provides a near real-time evidence base to inform the police approach to the apparent surge in domestic violence and abuse (DA) triggered by the Covid-19 lockdown in the UK. Police case file data from seven diverse police forces ...
Primary Topic: Crime & policing
Secondary Topic: Families & households
Lead investigator: Katrin Hohl
Countries
DETERMIND-C19: impact of Covid-19 on people newly diagnosed with dementia and their family carers, a mixed method study nested in DETERMIND
People with dementia are at high risk of adverse outcomes from Covid-19 and may also be adversely affected by the steps taken by society to control the spread of the infection. They have difficulty remembering and understanding restrictions and preca...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Sube Banerjee
Countries
Covid-19: The local as a site of food security resilience in the times of pandemic: opportunities, challenges and ways forward.
The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted on the UK’s food systems, and disruptions are likely to continue. There is emerging evidence that the local food sector (local food producers and their supply chains) can significantly contribute to ...
Primary Topic: Trade & supply chains
Secondary Topic: Business, big & small
Lead investigator: Anna Krzywoszynska
Countries
Food system impacts of Covid-19
This research will examine the extent of continuity and dislocation in the supply chain across dairy products, meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, and fish. They will look at instances of radical changes in routes to markets and the barriers to change;...
Primary Topic: Trade & supply chains
Secondary Topic: Business, big & small
Lead investigator: D. Michael Winter
Countries
Disabled people and Covid-19 in the UK
Disabled people are vulnerable to health and social impacts of Covid-19. For many, their support needs and their impairments make them more susceptible to the condition and increase the risk of mortality. This qualitative study will explore disabled ...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Charities & volunteering
Lead investigator: Tom Shakespeare
Countries
A duty of care and a duty to teach: educational priorities in response to the Covid-19 lockdown
This research explores the challenges the Covid-19 crisis sets primary schools, using surveys and telephone interviews to analyse how teachers weigh a duty of care (for their pupils’ well-being and welfare) and a duty to teach (given their responsi...
Primary Topic: Schools, universities & training
Lead investigator: Gemma Moss
Countries
Understanding Society Covid-19 study
Understanding Society has launched a new monthly survey to look at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the UK population. This has been funded by ESRC though the study’s discretionary budget and a £200k award from the Health Foundation. The ...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Lead investigator: Michaela Benzeval
Countries
English longitudinal study of ageing Covid-19 substudy
The Covid-19 crisis is having an unprecedented impact on people's lives from the perspectives of their health, psychological wellbeing, social activity, employment and financial circumstances. Older people are at high risk because of the presenc...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Families & households
Lead investigator: Andrew Steptoe
Countries
Impacts of Covid-19 on rural households in Bangladesh
The Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) is conducting a survey of rural households in Bangladesh to better understand Covid-19’s impacts on vulnerable people and guide the development of policy responses that improve social protection. This pho...
Primary Topic: Families & households
Lead investigator: Peter Morgan
Countries
Using phone surveys to assess the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the delivery of health and nutrition services in rural Ethiopia
This study assesses the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the delivery of health and nutrition services in rural Ethiopia using a phone survey. This three-wave survey will illuminate disruptions to healthcare delivery and adoption of precautionary ...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Guush Berhane
Countries
Civic capital and social distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic
The success of non-pharmaceutical interventions to contain pandemics often depends greatly upon voluntary compliance with government guidelines. What explains variation in voluntary compliance? Using mobile phone and survey data, we show that during ...
Primary Topic: Attitudes, media & governance
Lead investigator: John M Barrios
Managing the Covid-19 pandemic in poor urban neighbourhoods: the case of Ghana and South Africa
The novel Coronavirus, Covid-19, and measures to combat it are expected to have a significant impact on the physical and mental well being of all people, but especially those living in poor urban neighbourhoods. We are conducting a panel phone survey...
Primary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Secondary Topic: Families & households
Lead investigator: Isabel Gunther
Countries
Community health care and Covid-19 pandemic: experimental evidence from Uganda
The limited capacity of the health systems in many low-income countries, especially in rural areas, suggests that the rapid spreading of the Covid-19 virus could have huge consequences in those areas. On top of the direct impact of the virus, a growi...
Primary Topic: Attitudes, media & governance
Secondary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Martina Bjorkman-Nyqvist
Countries
Understanding the impact of Covid-19 on economic outcomes and well-being of rural communities in western Uganda
We use high-frequency phone surveys to dynamically track the impact of covid19 over a 3-month period. We already have baseline data on a sample of 1,250 households randomly selected from rural villages in Western Uganda. These baseline surveys were c...
Primary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Secondary Topic: Recession & recovery
Lead investigator: Mahreen Mahmud
Countries
Listening to young lives at work: impact of the global coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam
The survey aims to answer questions about impact of the pandemic, policies to contain the spread of the virus, and the subsequent economic slowdown in four developing countries. Building on almost twenty years of the project, the survey will examine ...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Secondary Topic: Jobs, work, pay & benefits
Lead investigator: Marta Favara
Covid-19 lockdown, institutional responsiveness, and household well-being: evidence from India
The countrywide lockdown has been the dominant strategy of the Indian government to arrest the rise of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the state and central governments should be focusing on formulating broad policies, the local government (Panchayats) ...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Vivek Pandey
Countries
The impact of cash in a crisis: evidence from Dandora, Kenya during and after Covid-19
This study will deliver cash grants to microenterprise owners run by women in Dandora, Kenya during the Covid-19 outbreak. We will use a randomized controlled trial to study the impact of cash on economic outcomes both during and after the crisis. Al...
Primary Topic: Attitudes, media & governance
Secondary Topic: Recession & recovery
Lead investigator: Wyatt Brooks
Countries
The impact of Covid-19 on the lives of women in the garment industry: evidence from Ethiopia
In this project, we conduct high-frequency phone surveys on a panel of women who work in garment factories in Ethiopia’s largest industrial park in the city of Hawassa to document how their lives are changing during the Covid-19 crisis. Sampling fr...
Primary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Secondary Topic: Recession & recovery
Lead investigator: Morgan Hardy
Countries
Our Covid story
Our Covid Story is a longitudinal study examining the impact of pandemic stress on health behaviors. Two cohorts of participants, from New York City and the broader United States, use a mobile app to complete approximately 5-10 minutes of self-report...
Primary Topic: Health, physical & mental
Lead investigator: Paul Glimcher
Countries
Economic impacts of Covid-19 lockdowns on vulnerable populations: evidence from Jordan
This project examines the economic impact of Covid-19 lockdown policies in Jordan. It focuses on the distributional impacts across different segments of society: the rich and poor, formal and informal workers, occupations, industries, women and refug...
Primary Topic: Inequality & poverty
Secondary Topic: Transport & infrastructure
Lead investigator: Michael Gechter
Countries
