Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Papers,
Lund University, Department of Economics

No 2022:9: Fighting Covid-19 amidst Civil Conflict: Micro-Level Evidence from Burkina Faso

Mohammad H. Sepahvand () and Philip Verwimp ()
Additional contact information
Mohammad H. Sepahvand: Department of Economics, Lund University, Postal: School of Economics and Management, Box 7080, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Philip Verwimp: European Center for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics (ECARES), Solvay Brussels School of Economics, Université libre de Bruxelles

Abstract: How does violent conflict affect the spread of Covid-19? In this paper we analyze how violent conflict influences the adoption of preventative measures and infection rate in a very poor, conflict-affected country, Burkina Faso. We use a unique panel of 1,919 households surveyed during the first six months of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and merge these data with indicators of violence at the municipality and regional level. Infection data are leveraged from 65 test centers across the country. We find a lower adoption rate of preventive measures, and a higher infection rate in areas affected by violence. We control for various socio-economic characteristics and discuss potential mechanisms. We argue that political interventions towards peace and stability also help to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Violent conflict; Covid-19; Poverty; Burkina Faso

JEL-codes: D74; D91; I12; I15

Language: English

61 pages, May 10, 2022

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