This paper examines the welfare impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, using harmonized data from 343 high-frequency phone surveys conducted in 80 economies during 2020 and 2021, representing more than 2.5 billion people. The analysis focuses on the scarring effects of the initial losses of...

Vulnerability to poverty refers to the likelihood that a household or an individual may fall below the poverty line in the event of a shock. Understanding vulnerability helps design policies to protect households and promote resilience. The World Bank's Equity Policy Lab (EPL) and the Global...

This paper presents new evidence on the levels and trends of vaccine hesitancy in developing countries based on harmonized high-frequency phone surveys from more than 120,000 respondents in 53 low- and middle-income countries. These countries represent a combined 30 percent of the population of...