Vincenzo Salvucci presents at RCSIP workshop on measuring effects of COVID-19 on poverty, inequality and mobility

On 10 June 2021, Vincenzo Salvucci, Researcher at the Inclusive growth in Mozambique programme, will share the findings of a recent WIDER Working Paper ‘The impact of COVID-19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique’ at a one-day workshop organized by the Research Circle for the Study of Inequality and Poverty (RCSIP), hosted by the Centre for Globalization Research (CGR) of the Queen Mary University of London.

The workshop, entitled ‘Theory and Empirics of Inequality, Poverty and Mobility: Measuring the effects of Covid-19 on poverty, inequality and mobility’ will discuss the effects of COVID-19 and lockdown measures in various country contexts. Other speakers include Patrick Asuming, University of Ghana Business School, Sudha Narayanan, International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, Giorgia Menta, University of Luxembourg, and Maria Emma Santos, Universidad Nacional del Sur, Argentina, and Oxford Poverty and Health Initiative, University of Oxford.

Abstract

The impact of COVID-19 on consumption poverty in Mozambique 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.