Listening to Young Lives at Work: Impact of the Global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on young people in Ethiopia, India, Peru and Vietnam
Researchers
Marta Favara, Catherine Porter, Revathi Ellanki, Alan Sanchez, Le Thuc Duc, Tassew Woldehanna, Andy McKay
Abstract
Young Lives longitudinal survey began in 2001, with two cohorts, one born in 2000 (8,000 children) and one born in 1994 (4,000 children). Young Lives had planned to undertake a sixth round of quantitative fieldwork in 2020, now replaced with a Computer-Assisted-Telephone-Survey (CATI) comprising three phone calls.
- Call 1 (June-July 2020): Explain the phone survey this year and in-person gain consent for the main survey. Basic information collected: living arrangements; health of household members; labour and education effects of current emergency/lockdown; Covid-19 knowledge and behaviours.
- Call 2 (September-October 2020): Main survey based on a much-shortened version of the planned Round 6 survey, with a focus on labor market participation and skills, but new modules added on the impact of the pandemic on the household’s health and economic situation.
- Call 3 (November-December 2020): Will include a short list of questions from call 1&2 to collect some time sensitive questions to better understand whether the respondent’s situation has changed in the meanwhile. The round 6 survey will take place in-person one year later than planned, in 2021 and assess medium-term impacts.
Project Outcomes of Interest
What proportion has been affected by COVID-19: through health, income (and savings) and job; food insecurity; disruption to education, or migration? What behavior changes since the crisis began? What short-term effects on health (including mental health); subjective well-being; educational attainment; employment and earnings; sale of assets; time use and care responsibilities? Differential impacts by gender, economic sector, area of residence, living in poverty? Have private strategies and public policies had a positive impact in mitigating the pandemic impact, or promoting positive behaviors?
Partners
Academic partners in the four study countries
Key Findings
The survey found impacts on many aspects of young peoples lives, with a stark contrast between Peru (heavily hit by COVID-19) and Vietnam (relatively unaffected), though in all countries economic crisis has affected life. There was some bounce-back in employment and mental health between Aug/Sept and Nov/Dec calls, except in Ethiopia, where conflict may also be a factor. See individual country briefings in the "Results" section.
Link to Results
Policy Briefings:
- A Year of Lost Learning for Girls: Evidence from the Young Lives at Work COVID-19 Phone Survey
- Listening to Young Lives at Work in Vietnam: Third Call
- Listening to Young Lives at Work in India: Third Call
- Listening to Young Lives at Work in Peru: Third Call
- Listening to Young Lives at Work in Ethiopia: Third Call
Academic Publications:
- Favara, M., Freund, R., Porter, C., Sánchez, A., & Scott, D. (2021). Young lives, interrupted: short-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in low-and middle-income countries. Covid Economics, 67, 172-98. Porter, C. et al (2021).
- Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on anxiety and depression symptoms of young people in the Global South: evidence from a four-country cohort study. BMJ open, 11(4), e049653. Porter, C., Favara, M., Sánchez, A., & Scott, D. (2021).
- The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on physical domestic violence: Evidence from a list randomization experiment. SSM-Population Health, 14, 100792.
Impact Goals
- Build resilience and protect the financial health of families and individuals
- Build resilient and adaptable businesses and employment opportunities
- Improve social-safety net responses
- Improve women’s health, safety, and economic empowerment
Project Data Collection Mode
- CATI (Computer-assisted telephone interviewing)
Link to Data Collection Instruments
Link to Public Data
https://beta.ukdataservice.ac.uk/datacatalogue/studies/study?id=8678
Implementing Organization
University of Oxford, Lancaster University, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Grupo de Analysis de Desarrollo, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, University of Addis Ababa
Results Status
Results