The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have adverse effects on the economy through damage to migratio... more The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have adverse effects on the economy through damage to migration and remittances. We use a unique monthly household panel dataset that covers the period both before and after the outbreak to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on a variety of household welfare outcomes in Tajikistan, where remittance inflows in recent years have exceeded a quarter of annual GDP. We provide several findings. First, after April 2020, the adverse effects of the pandemic on household welfare were significantly observed and were particularly pronounced in the second quarter of 2020. Second, in contrast to expectation, the pandemic had a sharp but only transitory effect on the stock of migrants working abroad in the spring. Some expected migrants were forced to remain in their home country during the border closures, while some incumbent migrants expecting to return were unable to do so and remained employed in their destination countries. Both departures and returns started ...
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inevitably affecting remittance-dependent countries th... more The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inevitably affecting remittance-dependent countries through economic downturns in the destination countries, and restrictions on travel and sending remittances to their home country. We explore the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of remittance-dependent households using a dataset collected in the Philippines prior to the outbreak. First, we confirm that remittances are associated with welfare of households, particularly for those whose head is male or lower educated. Then, we use the revision of the 2020 GDP projections before and after the COVID-19 crisis to gauge potential impacts on households caused by the pandemic. We find that remittance inflow will decrease by 14–20% and household spending per capita will decline by 1–2% (food expenditure per capita by 2–3%) in one year as a result of the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have adverse effects on the economy through damage to migratio... more The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have adverse effects on the economy through damage to migration and remittances. We use a unique monthly household panel dataset that covers the period both before and after the outbreak to examine the impacts of COVID-19 on a variety of household welfare outcomes in Tajikistan, where remittance inflows in recent years have exceeded a quarter of annual GDP. We provide several findings. First, after April 2020, the adverse effects of the pandemic on household welfare were significantly observed and were particularly pronounced in the second quarter of 2020. Second, in contrast to expectation, the pandemic had a sharp but only transitory effect on the stock of migrants working abroad in the spring. Some expected migrants were forced to remain in their home country during the border closures, while some incumbent migrants expecting to return were unable to do so and remained employed in their destination countries. Both departures and returns started ...
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inevitably affecting remittance-dependent countries th... more The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is inevitably affecting remittance-dependent countries through economic downturns in the destination countries, and restrictions on travel and sending remittances to their home country. We explore the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of remittance-dependent households using a dataset collected in the Philippines prior to the outbreak. First, we confirm that remittances are associated with welfare of households, particularly for those whose head is male or lower educated. Then, we use the revision of the 2020 GDP projections before and after the COVID-19 crisis to gauge potential impacts on households caused by the pandemic. We find that remittance inflow will decrease by 14–20% and household spending per capita will decline by 1–2% (food expenditure per capita by 2–3%) in one year as a result of the pandemic.
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Papers by Satoshi Shimizutani