Coping during COVID-19: family businesses and social assistance in Nigeria

in: COVID Economics Vetted and Real-Time Papers 51, 159-184

Information

The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent Government-imposed restrictions have altered the way of life around the globe. Using the new “Nigeria Baseline COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey 2020”, this paper contributes to the nascent literature on the economics of COVID-19 by examining the impact of changes in income and social assistance due to the pandemic on the coping strategies of family business owners. We find that family business owners who experienced a reduction in income and those that received social assistance due to the pandemic are likely to increase their coping level. We discuss the policy implications of these findings.