Effects of COVID-19 on Living Standards of Households in the North East Region of Ghana: A Linear Mixed Effects Model Approach

The world was severely hit by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the latter part of 2019. The coronavirus is an ongoing global pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and was first identified in Wuhan, China. The pandemic has devastated every sector of Ghana's economy and has significantly affected the living standards of people in the country. This study seeks to investigate the effects of COVID-19 on the living standards of households in Ghana using the North East Region as a case study. A sample of 399 respondents was drawn from the six (6) districts/municipalities using a single-stage cluster sampling technique. A linear mixed-effects model was used to investigate the fixed effects and the random effects in the study. Results from the study showed that variables such as the marital status of respondents, highest educational level of respondents, dependents, and employment status of respondents had significant fixed effects on the living standard of households in the Region. Overall, the study results showed that COVID-19 had significantly affected most households which has resulted in deteriorating living standards making the overall living standards worse in the Region. It was recommended in the study that a similar investigation be carried out in other parts of the country to get a more holistic view of the effects of the pandemic.