COVID-19 Pandemic, household income and coping strategies in Nigeria

Abstract

This study analyzed the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on household income and the determinants of coping strategies in Nigeria, using the combination of the COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey data and the fourth wave of the General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019.  The fourth wave of General Household Survey, Panel 2018-2019 data is part of the World Bank's Living Standards Measurement Study–Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) and the National Bureau of Statistics of Nigeria collected the data in collaboration with the World Bank and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020, Baseline was implemented by the National Bureau of Statistics in collaboration with the World Bank. The analyses were based on multinomial logistic and multivariate probit models. Multinomial logit regression analysis shows that households that consider the pandemic a substantial threat and households with older heads were more likely to have decreased income while households that received transfer income and self-employed were more likely to have increased income. Several household characteristics exhibited different levels of influence on the choice of coping strategies during the lockdown. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be developed to foster meaningful (wage/self) employment and coping strategies to achieve optimal results in response to the pandemic.