IGM researcher Vincenzo Salvucci presents at Nordic Conference in Development Economics

Vincenzo Salvucci, Researcher at the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme, University of Copenhagen, presents a recent WIDER Working Paper measuring the microeconomic impact of COVID-19 in Mozambique, ‘The impact of COVID-19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique’ (WIDER Working Paper 94/2021), at the Nordic Conference in Development Economics (NCDE) on 16 June 2021.

The 19th NCDE conference is organised by Chr. Michelsen Institute, the Department of Economics at the University of Bergen, and FAIR, on behalf of the Nordic Network in Development Economics on 15-16 June 2021.

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique (WIDER Working Paper 94/2021) study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the state of emergency implemented by the Government of Mozambique on household consumption poverty. To predict changes in income and the associated effects on poverty and inequality, the authors of the paper rely on macroeconomic impacts estimated by Betho et al. using a social accounting multiplier model.

The paper shows that, while the COVID-19 shock affected urban areas the most, the results indicate that rural areas experienced a higher increase in poverty rates due to the already low levels of consumption. Poverty most certainly increased in the pre-COVID 2015–20 period due to other shocks, so Mozambique finds itself in an intense and deepening struggle against poverty.