IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/arx/papers/2409.02285.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Coping or Hoping? Livelihood Diversification and Food Insecurity in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Ann M. Furbush
  • Anna Josephson
  • Talip Kilic
  • Jeffrey D. Michler

Abstract

We examine the impact of livelihood diversification on food insecurity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Our analysis uses household panel data from Ethiopia, Malawi, and Nigeria in which the first round was collected immediately prior to the pandemic and extends through multiple rounds of monthly data collection during the pandemic. Using this pre- and post-outbreak data, and guided by a pre-analysis plan, we estimate the causal effect of livelihood diversification on food insecurity. Our results do not support the hypothesis that livelihood diversification boosts household resilience. Though income diversification may serve as an effective coping mechanism for small-scale shocks, we find that for a disaster on the scale of the pandemic this strategy is not effective. Policymakers looking to prepare for the increased occurrence of large-scale disasters will need to grapple with the fact that coping strategies that gave people hope in the past may fail them as they try to cope with the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Ann M. Furbush & Anna Josephson & Talip Kilic & Jeffrey D. Michler, 2024. "Coping or Hoping? Livelihood Diversification and Food Insecurity in the COVID-19 Pandemic," Papers 2409.02285, arXiv.org.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2409.02285
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://arxiv.org/pdf/2409.02285
    File Function: Latest version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gulesci, Selim & Puente–Beccar, Manuela & Ubfal, Diego, 2021. "Can youth empowerment programs reduce violence against girls during the COVID-19 pandemic?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    2. Berkouwer, Susanna B. & Biscaye, Pierre E. & Puller, Steven & Wolfram, Catherine D., 2022. "Disbursing emergency relief through utilities: Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    3. Arellano, Manuel & Bover, Olympia, 1995. "Another look at the instrumental variable estimation of error-components models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 29-51, July.
    4. Stoop, Nik & Desbureaux, Sébastien & Kaota, Audacieux & Lunanga, Elie & Verpoorten, Marijke, 2021. "Covid-19 vs. Ebola: Impact on households and small businesses in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Harttgen, Kenneth & Klasen, Stephan & Rischke, Ramona, 2016. "Analyzing nutritional impacts of price and income related shocks in Malawi: Simulating household entitlements to food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 31-43.
    6. Rudin-Rush, Lorin & Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna & Bloem, Jeffrey R., 2022. "Food insecurity during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in four African countries," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Marta Favara & Richard Freund & Catherine Porter & Alan Sanchez & Douglas Scott, 2022. "Young Lives, Interrupted: Short-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Adolescents in Low- and Middle-Income Countries," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(6), pages 1063-1080, June.
    8. Sadish, D & Adhvaryu, Achyuta & Nyshadham, Anant, 2021. "(Mis)information and anxiety: Evidence from a randomized Covid-19 information campaign," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    9. Humphreys, Macartan & Sanchez de la Sierra, Raul & van der Windt, Peter, 2013. "Fishing, Commitment, and Communication: A Proposal for Comprehensive Nonbinding Research Registration," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 21(1), pages 1-20, January.
    10. Andrew W. Stevens & Jim Teal, 2024. "Diversification and resilience of firms in the agrifood supply chain," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(2), pages 739-778, March.
    11. Smith, Lisa C. & Frankenberger, Timothy R., 2018. "Does Resilience Capacity Reduce the Negative Impact of Shocks on Household Food Security? Evidence from the 2014 Floods in Northern Bangladesh," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 358-376.
    12. Brooks, Wyatt & Donovan, Kevin & Johnson, Terence R. & Oluoch-Aridi, Jackline, 2022. "Cash transfers as a response to COVID-19: Experimental evidence from Kenya," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    13. Giles John & Murtazashvili Irina, 2013. "A Control Function Approach to Estimating Dynamic Probit Models with Endogenous Regressorsa," Journal of Econometric Methods, De Gruyter, vol. 2(1), pages 69-87, July.
    14. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    15. Benjamin A. Olken, 2015. "Promises and Perils of Pre-analysis Plans," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 29(3), pages 61-80, Summer.
    16. Frank Ellis, 1998. "Household strategies and rural livelihood diversification," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(1), pages 1-38.
    17. Michler, Jeffrey D. & Josephson, Anna L., 2017. "To Specialize or Diversify: Agricultural Diversity and Poverty Dynamics in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 214-226.
    18. McKenzie, David, 2012. "Beyond baseline and follow-up: The case for more T in experiments," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(2), pages 210-221.
    19. Gupta, Divya & Fischer, Harry & Shrestha, Suchita & Shoaib Ali, Syed & Chhatre, Ashwini & Devkota, Kamal & Fleischman, Forrest & Khatri, Dil B. & Rana, Pushpendra, 2021. "Dark and bright spots in the shadow of the pandemic: Rural livelihoods, social vulnerability, and local governance in India and Nepal," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    20. Mahmud, Mahreen & Riley, Emma, 2021. "Household response to an extreme shock: Evidence on the immediate impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on economic outcomes and well-being in rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    21. Aslihan Arslan & Romina Cavatassi & Federica Alfani & Nancy Mccarthy & Leslie Lipper & Misael Kokwe, 2018. "Diversification Under Climate Variability as Part of a CSA Strategy in Rural Zambia," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(3), pages 457-480, March.
    22. Kansiime, Monica K. & Tambo, Justice A. & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Kara, Augustine & Owuor, Charles, 2021. "COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    23. Gero Carletto & Marco Tiberti & Alberto Zezza, 2022. "Measure for Measure: Comparing Survey Based Estimates of Income and Consumption for Rural Households [Obtaining Useful Data on Household Incomes from Surveys]," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 37(1), pages 1-38.
    24. Anna Josephson & Talip Kilic & Jeffrey D. Michler, 2021. "Socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 in low-income countries," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(5), pages 557-565, May.
    25. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    26. Hamid R. Oskorouchi & Alfonso Sousa‐Poza, 2021. "Floods, food security, and coping strategies: Evidence from Afghanistan," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(1), pages 123-140, January.
    27. Gutierrez, Emilio & Rubli, Adrian & Tavares, Tiago, 2022. "Information and behavioral responses during a pandemic: Evidence from delays in Covid-19 death reports," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Duy Linh Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2023. "Shocks, household consumption, and livelihood diversification: a comparative evidence from panel data in rural Thailand and Vietnam," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3223-3255, October.
    2. Donatella Saccone, 2021. "Can the Covid19 pandemic affect the achievement of the ‘Zero Hunger’ goal? Some preliminary reflections," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1025-1038, September.
    3. Nan Li & Muzi Chen & Difang Huang, 2022. "How Do Logistics Disruptions Affect Rural Households? Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-17, December.
    4. Kibrom A Abay & Nishant Yonzan & Sikandra Kurdi & Kibrom Tafere, 2023. "Revisiting Poverty Trends and the Role of Social Protection Systems in Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies, vol. 32(Supplemen), pages 44-68.
    5. Hangoma, Peter & Hachhethu, Kusum & Passeri, Silvia & Norheim, Ole Frithjof & Rivers, Johnathan & Mæstad, Ottar, 2024. "Short- and long-term food insecurity and policy responses in pandemics: Panel data evidence from COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    6. Daniel Ştefan Armeanu & Georgeta Vintilă & Ştefan Cristian Gherghina, 2017. "Empirical Study towards the Drivers of Sustainable Economic Growth in EU-28 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-22, December.
    7. Youngho Kang & Byung-Yeon Kim, 2018. "Immigration and economic growth: do origin and destination matter?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(46), pages 4968-4984, October.
    8. Cho, Seo-young & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2010. "Compliance for big brothers: An empirical analysis on the impact of the anti-trafficking protocol," University of Göttingen Working Papers in Economics 118, University of Goettingen, Department of Economics.
    9. Vieira, Flávio & MacDonald, Ronald & Damasceno, Aderbal, 2012. "The role of institutions in cross-section income and panel data growth models: A deeper investigation on the weakness and proliferation of instruments," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 127-140.
    10. Hakkala, Katariina & Heyman, Fredrik & Sjöholm, Fredrik, 2007. "Cross-Border Acquisitions, Multinationals and Wage Elasticities," Working Paper Series 709, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    11. Tuba DERYA-BASKAN & Eda BALIKÇIOĞLU, 2018. "Firma Bileşenlerinin Halka Açık Perakende Firmalarında Kurumlar Vergisine Etkisi," Sosyoekonomi Journal, Sosyoekonomi Society, issue 26(37).
    12. Kitazawa, Yoshitsugu, 2001. "Exponential regression of dynamic panel data models," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(1), pages 7-13, October.
    13. Nuno Carlos LEITÃO & Muhammad SHAHBAZ, 2012. "Migration and Tourism Demand," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(567)), pages 39-48, February.
    14. Alessandra Canepa & Fawaz Khaled, 2018. "Housing, Housing Finance and Credit Risk," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, May.
    15. Tahir Andrabi & Jishnu Das & Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Tristan Zajonc, 2011. "Do Value-Added Estimates Add Value? Accounting for Learning Dynamics," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 29-54, July.
    16. Efobi, Uchenna & Asongu, Simplice & Okafor, Chinelo & Tchamyou, Vanessa & Tanankem, Belmondo, 2016. "Diaspora Remittance Inflow, Financial Development and the Industrialisation of Africa," MPRA Paper 76121, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Han, Chirok & Kim, Hyoungjong, 2014. "The role of constant instruments in dynamic panel estimation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 500-503.
    18. Emrah Kocak & Hayriye Hilal Baglitas, 2022. "The path to sustainable municipal solid waste management: Do human development, energy efficiency, and income inequality matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1947-1962, December.
    19. Eschenhof, Sabine, 2009. "Standard Taylor rules revisited: A cross country study for European countries," Darmstadt Discussion Papers in Economics 196, Darmstadt University of Technology, Department of Law and Economics.
    20. Huy Quang Doan, 2019. "Trade, Institutional Quality and Income: Empirical Evidence for Sub-Saharan Africa," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, May.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2409.02285. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: arXiv administrators (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://arxiv.org/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.