Do Coping Strategies Improve Household Welfare? Evidence from the COVID-19 Era in Lagos State, Nigeria

The COVID-19, a pandemic which affected millions of lives caused a decline in the living standards of many households. Households who were economically secured before became poor or risked becoming poor, and those who were initially poor were further pushed down the poverty trap. Different households in a bid to improve their standard of living during this period relied on different strategies. This study therefore investigated the effect of these coping strategies on household welfare in Lagos State, Nigeria with emphasis on the COVID-19 era. Multistage sampling technique was employed to select 400 households for this study. The data collected were presented with descriptive statistics and analyzed using coping strategy index and a two-stage probit regression model. The result revealed that there were more non-poor households than poor households, and that the coping strategies mostly adopted by household heads during the COVID-19 era were: relying on less preferred and less expensive foods, limiting portion size at mealtimes, reducing the number of meals, rationing the money they had and buying prepared food, and purchasing food on credit. The result revealed that coping strategies such as: relying on less preferred and less expensive food, purchasing food on credit, sending household members to eat elsewhere, and rationing the money households have at hand were significant to influence households’ welfare. The study therefore recommends that vulnerable households should be assisted through different mechanisms as this study had shown that the different coping strategies adopted by households had mostly being not enough to increase their welfare.