Miscellaneous Knowledge Notes

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Nepal Crisis Preparedness Gap Analysis: Policy Brief
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-03-13) World Bank
Crisis preparedness is cral to preventing shocks from becoming crises. Investments in ex ante preparedness are especially relevant in countries like Nepal that face high levels of exposure and vulnerability to a range of risks. In seeking to identify opportunities to strengthen the Government of Nepal’s (GoN’s) capacity to prepare for crisis events in an effective and timely manner, this Technical Annex presents findings from the application of the Crisis Preparedness Gap Analysis (CPGA) diagnostic in the country. It provides details on findings and entry points across the five componnts of crisis preparedness. For a summary, please refer to the accompanying CPGA Nepal Briefing Note. Following a brief description of the CPGA methodology, the Technical Annex presents a summary of findings from each CPGA component alongside identification of entry points and opportunities to strengthen crisis preparedness in the country. To provide a holistic assessment of preparedness, the CPGA focuses on five core components of crisis preparedness. These are (i) Legal and Institutional Foundations, (ii) Understanding and Monitoring Risks, (iii) Financial Preparedness, (iv) Primary Response, and (v) Social and Livelihood Support.
Philippines Monthly Economic Developments, January 2024
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-02-13) World Bank
The economy expanded by 5.6 percent year-on-year in Q4 2023 as robust private consumption continued to fuel growth, while the recovery of tourism buoyed the expansion of services. The cumulative fiscal deficit declined in November 2023, while low external demand dampened goods exports, which weighed on manufacturing output growth. The unemployment rate fell to a 15-year low in November, supported by strong domestic demand during the holidays, yet job quality remains a concern.
COVID-19 in South Asia: An Unequal Shock, An Uncertain Recovery - Findings on Labor Market Impacts from Round 1 of the SAR COVID Phone Monitoring Surveys
(Washington, DC, 2022-04) World Bank
All countries across South Asia, faced with the rising risks of COVID-19 infection rates, implemented severe economic lockdowns in early 2020 with varying frequencies and time periods. While the exact nature and duration of these lockdowns varied across countries in the South Asia Region (SAR), almost all SAR countries imposed their first economic lockdown in late March 2020 in response to the growing health threat of COVID-19 infections. In India, for instance, the national lockdown was first introduced in late March 2020, which coincided with the imposition of similar lockdowns in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, followed by a national lockdown in Pakistan on April 1, 2020. By April 17, 2020, the population of all SAR countries was under severe lockdown with varying rules and conditions based on national or local directives. The introduction of these lockdowns led to a drastic, abrupt disruption in all forms of physical mobility and economic activities. Trends from the Google COVID-19 Community Mobility data reveal this sharp drop in day-to-day mobility related to four different types of economic activity across 6 out of 8 SAR countries for which this data was available. Figure 1 plots the daily change in the Google Mobility index, which is constructed by taking an equally weighted mean across the four dimensions of economic activity for the five weeks before March 2020. In the six SAR countries, the average mobility remained approximately, on average, 58 percent below their respective pre-COVID levels during the first week of the lockdown. For example, in Nepal, where the lockdown was first introduced on March 24, 2020, mobility (as measured by the Google Mobility index) was 66 percent below pre-COVID levels on the first day of the lockdown; and it remained, on average, 71.5 percent below per-COVID levels between March 24, 2020, and March 30, 2020. We observe a similar pattern of immediate and large disruptions in mobility in all SAR countries, except in Afghanistan (22.5 percent below pre-COVID levels), where restrictions were more localized. The Google Mobility index closely follows these changes in rules and conditions in SAR countries, which varied over time within each country as well as across countries. In countries like Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka, with an extended period of restrictions imposed through national or local directives at different points in time, mobility had not returned to pre-COVID levels even as late as April 2021. In Nepal and Sri Lanka, where the second lockdown was introduced in August and November 2020, respectively, we observe a sharp drop again in mobility after a gradual recovery following the easing of the first lockdown. In other SAR countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, mobility only returned to pre-COVID levels between September and October 2020. These results underscore the dramatic and prolonged impact that COVID-19 induced lockdowns have had on mobility and economic activity, which is perhaps unprecedented in the region, at least in recent history4. These lockdowns are likely to have important implications on various socio-economic dimensions of welfare, including labor market outcomes, both immediately and in the medium, to long-term. More importantly, the long-term impacts will also be determined by the nature and the pace of recovery observed in these countries in the months and years after the initial phase of lockdown. Moreover, the emergence of new mutants leaves open the possibility of future lockdowns as a policy response to mitigate the health effects of the virus, which could impact economic activity and reverse observed recoveries.
Nepal - Impacts of COVID-19 on Work and Wages in 2020: Policy Brief
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-11-01) World Bank
This brief describes the results of the labor market module, which tracks changes in employment status, job type, and labor earnings. Job- and earnings-related outcomes are tracked in three periods: (a) in January 2020; (b) at the time of the first lockdowns (March–April 2020), through a series of retrospective questions; and (c) in the previous seven days, through standard questions about current work status. This retrospective panel design allows for the assessment of changes in labor market outcomes for economically active people in 2020. A complimentary brief examines the impacts of income shocks on the ability to meet basic needs and the coping strategies available to households.
Nepal - Assistance and Coping Strategies in 2020 During COVID-19: Policy Brief
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-11-01) World Bank
The data used in this brief come from the first round of the World Bank’s South Asia COVID-19 Phone Monitoring Survey, which surveyed individuals in the eight South Asia Region (SAR) countries. The survey assessed the short-run impacts of COVID-19 on the labor market, the impacts of income shocks on the ability to meet basic needs, and the coping strategies available to households. This brief summarizes the findings from the safety net and coping mechanisms module. A complementary brief details the labor market impacts of the COVID-19 crisis in Nepal.
Women’s Employment and Safety Perceptions: Evidence from Low-income Neighborhoods of Dhaka, Bangladesh
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-08) Ahmed, Tanima; Kotikula, Aphichoke
This brief uses the 2018 Dhaka Low-Income Area Gender, Inclusion, and Poverty (DIGNITY) survey to assess the gender gap in safety perceptions and analyze the correlation between women’s safety perception and their labor market outcomes. The analysis shows that women are significantly less likely than men to feel safe in the low-income neighborhoods of Dhaka. While the percentage of women who reported feeling safe increased with age, living standard, and the availability of streetlights, the percentage of women who reported feeling safe decreased with education and concern of eviction. The analysis further shows that this gender gap in safety perception disproportionately hurt women’s labor market outcomes. Women who feel safe are much more likely to be economically active, work outside their neighborhoods, and explore economic opportunities.
What Do We Know About Interventions to Increase Women’s Economic Participation and Empowerment in South Asia?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06) World Bank
The World Bank’s South Asia Region Gender Innovation Lab is conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of interventions with direct or indirect effects on measures of women’s economic empowerment. The review focuses on changes in labor force participation, employment, income, and empowerment outcomes. The goal is to document what has worked and has not for women in the region (covering all countries; Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), the types of interventions implemented, and identifiable gaps in knowledge and action. The review organizes interventions in six broad categories: skills, assets, credit, labor market, entrepreneurship, and empowerment. This note summarizes the main findings from skill-building interventions.
Results from a COVID-19 Rapid Phone Survey in Sri Lanka
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-06) Kim, Yeon Soo; de Silva, Tiloka
This brief presents the main findings from a rapid phone survey conducted by the World Bank across eight South Asian countries. The primary aim of the survey was to understand changes in the labor market among different groups. Additional questions were included on households’ ability to meet basic needs, safety nets, and coping mechanisms. In Sri Lanka, the survey was implemented between September and December 2020, and therefore helps assess the short-term impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Impacts of COVID-19 on Labor Markets and Household Well-Being in Pakistan: Evidence From an Online Job Platform
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02) Tas, Emcet O.; Ahmed, Tanima; Matsuda, Norihiko; Nomura, Shinsaku
This brief uses the administrative database of Pakistan’s largest online job platform and an online COVID-19 survey to examine the gender impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on labor markets and other well-being indicators. The analysis shows that the pandemic led to an unprecedented level of economic insecurity, resulting in widespread job loss, business closures, slowdown in business activity, and reduced working hours. The sectors where women are more likely to be employed, such as education and health, were more severely affected, yet the post-pandemic recovery was faster for males. The pandemic has also led to a disproportionate increase in women’s unpaid care work, as well as increasing their reported rates of stress, anxiety and exposure to violence. These findings suggest that impacts resulting from COVID-19 might lead to further declines in women’s participation in the economy in Pakistan, where women’s labor force participation is already among the world’s lowest.
COVID-19 Monitoring Survey in Poor and Slum Areas of Dhaka and Chittagong: Bangladesh Labor Market Situation As of Round 3, January 13 - February 27, 2021
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021) World Bank
To track the impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on labor markets and household coping strategies, a rapid phone survey was implemented on a representative sample of households living in poor and slum areas of Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporations (CCs). This brief, the fifth in the series, summarizes results from the first, second, and third rounds of the rapid phone survey, conducted from June 10 to July 10, 2020, from September 2 to October 11, 2020, and from January 13 to February 27, 2021, respectively. Eighty-eight percent of respondents interviewed in the first and second survey rounds were reached in the third round (see annex 1 for details of the survey design and response rates). This brief focuses on how the labor-market situation evolved between the rounds a year after the onset of the crisis.