This empirical analysis investigates whether and to what extent social cohesion and the coverage of social protection schemes influence governments' decisions about the stringency of COVID-19 containment policies during the first and second waves in 2020 in Africa. Our results indicate that...

This paper examines whether social protection - in the form of existing social assistance programmes - affects measures of household well-being such as poverty, food security and costly risk-coping behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using primary data from nationally representative,...

Social cohesion is key for sustainable development. While social cohesion has suffered in many societies from the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, high levels of social cohesion have helped to overcome critical situations during the pandemic in other societies. As a consequence, protecting...

This paper examines empirically whether social protection in the form of adapted social assistance programmes are affecting social cohesion during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using unique primary data from nationally representative, in-person surveys from Kenya allows for the exploration of the...

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of health systems and highlights the need for renewed efforts to finance pandemic preparedness, prevention and response (PPR) mechanisms, and universal health coverage (UHC). Two lessons emerge from this global health challenge. First, it has shown...

Die Corona-Pandemie hat uns die Anfälligkeit der Gesundheitssysteme vor Augen geführt und gezeigt, dass wir neue Finanzierungsmechanismen für Pandemieprävention, -vorsorge und -reaktion (PPR) und die flächen-deckende Gesundheitsversorgung (Universal Health Coverage, UHC) brauchen. Aus der...

This paper delivers empirical evidence on how informal transfers are affected by a formal and country-wide health insurance scheme. Using the fifth wave of the Ghanaian Living Standard Household Survey, we investigate the extent to which the exogenous implementation of the National Health...

This study examines the effects of a nationwide shock-responsive social cash transfer scheme during an aggregate shock, with a focus on highly risk susceptible informal sector households in Kenya. Leveraging primary in-person survey data in a doubly robust difference-in-differences framework, we...

Widely considered as an important backbone of economies in developing countries, micro- and small enterprises face several constraints in doing business in Ghana. The creation of industrial zones (IZ) with improved access to infrastructure and secured land tenure is a potential remedy to promote...

This paper examines empirically whether midwifes, as an integral part of the health and family planning programs in Indonesia, are effective in advising young women to delay their first birth and also influence the decision on post-primary school attendance. Using the Indonesian Family Life...