The market-reach of pandemics: Evidence from female workers in Ethiopia's ready-made garment industry

Christian Johannes Meyer; Morgan Hardy; Marc Witte; Gisella Kagy; Eyoual Demeke

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105179

The market-reach of pandemics: Evidence from female workers in Ethiopia's ready-made garment industry

Christian Johannes Meyer, Morgan Hardy, Marc Witte, Gisella Kagy, Eyoual Demeke

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

In a globalized world, pandemics transmit impacts through markets. We document employment changes, coping strategies, and welfare of garment factory workers in Ethiopia's largest industrial park during the early stages of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic. We field a phone survey of female workers during a two month period in which cases are rapidly rising globally, but not locally. Our data suggest significant changes in employment, high levels of migration away from urban areas to rural areas if women are no longer working, and high levels of food insecurity. These findings compel a research and policy focus on documenting and mitigating the market-reach of pandemics on low-income workers at the margins.

Original language	English
Article number	105179
Journal	World Development
Volume	137
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105179
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2021
Externally published	Yes

Funding

We thank without implicating Tirsit Endrias, Kamila Hamza, Koen Maaskant, and Fekadu Nigussie for assistance and helpful comments and Fatahun Yonas for the partnership and cooperation on our broader project. We also thank our field team led by Stephanie Annijas and Endale Gebre Gebremedhine, without whom this work would not be possible. Eduard Krkoska provided outstanding research assistance. We gratefully acknowledge funding by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) through the World Bank Group “More, better, and more inclusive jobs: Preparing for successful industrialization in Ethiopia” initiative, the World Bank Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) ieConnect for Impact Program, the International Growth Centre (IGC), and the CEPR/FCDO Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries (PEDL) initiative. Fieldwork received ethical approval from the University of Oxford Economics Department Research Ethics Committee (protocol #ECONCIA21-21-12). All errors are our own.

Funders	Funder number
Commonwealth & Development Office
FCDO Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries
PEDL	21-21-12
International Growth Centre
Centre for Economic Policy Research
Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

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The market-reach of pandemics: Evidence from female workers in Ethiopia's ready-made garment industry

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