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The study presented in this paper explored the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and business model innovation of companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) after the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the authors aimed to analyze how the individual dimensions of corporate entrepreneurship influence business model innovation by using the dynamic capabilities view. The study empirically analysed a sample of 100 companies using regression analysis. The findings revealed that each dimension of corporate entrepreneurship positively and significantly impacts business model innovation. Innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, autonomy, and competitive aggressiveness positively affected the innovation of the business model. The results of this study confirm that entrepreneurial initiative is a good predictor of a company's ability to innovate business models. The implication for management is to deepen the understanding of how corporate entrepreneurship promotes and shapes an innovative business model. This increases companies' success and overall well-being in B&H after the COVID-19 pandemic. KEYWORDS: corporate entrepreneurship, business model innovation, innovativeness, proactiveness, risk-taking, autonomy, competitive aggressiveness, dynamic capabilities view., 1. INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has damaged economies around the world, although the extent of the damage is difficult to assess. Economic development slowdown is evident in developed and developing [...]

This paper aims to examine how digitalization played a vital role in enabling women-led businesses to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and explore the strategies they implemented for this purpose. Many countries were unprepared to cope with such a catastrophic situation, leading to significant consequences across various sectors. Therefore, this study emphasizes the importance of digitizing business processes and provides insights into how businesses have adapted to this challenge. In addition, the paper includes a thorough analysis of studies conducted by various authors who have explored this topic. This research paper is a qualitative case study and draws on primary and secondary data sources. The primary data was obtained by distributing questionnaires to selected companies to gain insights into their working methods throughout the pandemic. From the information gathered, it is evident that digitalization became imperative during the pandemic. However, this transition came with challenges in adapting the workforce to remote working arrangements. It is worth noting that the companies examined in this study are run by women, a particularly affected demographic during the pandemic. In terms of government decisions, several business support packages were adopted. This paper argues that women-led businesses should receive more support to operate more freely, digitize their work processes, improve well-being, and increase both turnover and the number of their employees. KEYWORDS: digitalization; small and medium enterprises (SMEs); female entrepreneurship; COVID-19; Kosovo, 1. INTRODUCTION In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak, attributed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, a pandemic (Ducharme, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic became a global challenge that [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every sphere of life and livelihoods around the world. Many migrant workers from the Global South, such as Bangladesh, working in the Gulf countries were reported to be impacted by COVID-19, but the direct voices and views of migrant workers themselves and their households are largely unknown. This research adopts a mixed-method approach to assess the impact of the pandemic on foreign remittances to Bangladesh and the well-being of migrant households. The primary data collection involved fieldwork conducted in four migrant-dense villages, situated in Mymensingh and Meherpur districts of Bangladesh. A set of 221 household surveys was administered. In addition to the surveys, 52 semi-structured interviews were carried out, engaging with key individuals at community, district, and national levels such as heads of migrant households, returnee migrants, managers of migration financiers, owners of labor recruiting agencies, officials of the district manpower office etc. Results show that although a significant number of Bangladeshi migrant workers returned home since the COVID-19 pandemic and the outflow of Bangladeshi migrant workers shrank by 69 percent in 2020, remittance inflows at the national level witnessed a growth of 18.5 percent in 2020, which did not resonate with the negative prediction made by the World Bank. However, this research found a macro-micro mismatch, indicating a substantial decline in remittances at the household level. This might be due to the existence of a robust unofficial channel for remittance sending. Approximately 62% of migrant households in the case study sites experienced a 32% reduction in remittances during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. In response to the decline in remittance income, a majority of migrant households (77%) resorted to utilizing their accumulated savings. Additionally, approximately 20% of households sought financial support and borrowing from friends, relatives, and community members. At the community level, the local economy experienced a sharp downturn, leading to a ripple effect that affected everyone within the community. To address the unofficial remittance sending, the Government of Bangladesh should implement effective measures to curb unofficial remittance channels. Upskilling initiatives have the potential to alleviate the vulnerability of Bangladeshi migrant workers, fostering increased income stability. Policymakers should place greater emphasis on crafting savings instruments tailored to the specific needs of migrant households. It is also imperative to prioritize an income diversification policy at the community level to mitigate dependence on remittances. JEL Classifications: F24, F22 and J15 Keywords: COVID-19, remittances, Bangladesh, Gulf countries, migrant workers, INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated health and economies across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every sphere of life and livelihoods around the world. Many migrant workers from the Global South, such as Bangladesh, working in the Gulf countries were reported to be impacted by COVID-19, but the direct voices and views of migrant workers themselves and their households are largely unknown. This research adopts a mixed-method approach to assess the impact of the pandemic on foreign remittances to Bangladesh and the well-being of migrant households. The primary data collection involved fieldwork conducted in four migrant-dense villages, situated in Mymensingh and Meherpur districts of Bangladesh. A set of 221 household surveys was administered. In addition to the surveys, 52 semi-structured interviews were carried out, engaging with key individuals at community, district, and national levels such as heads of migrant households, returnee migrants, managers of migration financiers, owners of labor recruiting agencies, officials of the district manpower office etc. Results show that although a significant number of Bangladeshi migrant workers returned home since the COVID-19 pandemic and the outflow of Bangladeshi migrant workers shrank by 69 percent in 2020, remittance inflows at the national level witnessed a growth of 18.5 percent in 2020, which did not resonate with the negative prediction made by the World Bank. However, this research found a macro-micro mismatch, indicating a substantial decline in remittances at the household level. This might be due to the existence of a robust unofficial channel for remittance sending. Approximately 62% of migrant households in the case study sites experienced a 32% reduction in remittances during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. In response to the decline in remittance income, a majority of migrant households (77%) resorted to utilizing their accumulated savings. Additionally, approximately 20% of households sought financial support and borrowing from friends, relatives, and community members. At the community level, the local economy experienced a sharp downturn, leading to a ripple effect that affected everyone within the community. To address the unofficial remittance sending, the Government of Bangladesh should implement effective measures to curb unofficial remittance channels. Upskilling initiatives have the potential to alleviate the vulnerability of Bangladeshi migrant workers, fostering increased income stability. Policymakers should place greater emphasis on crafting savings instruments tailored to the specific needs of migrant households. It is also imperative to prioritize an income diversification policy at the community level to mitigate dependence on remittances. JEL Classifications: F24, F22 and J15 Keywords: COVID-19, remittances, Bangladesh, Gulf countries, migrant workers, INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated health and economies across the globe. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 30 [...]

The Caribbean region faces a daunting challenge as it confronts the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to shed light on the intricate relationship between governance quality and the economic performance of Caribbean nations, especially in the context of a global health crisis. Our research method involves a panel-random effects model, which captures the effects of governance quality and the COVID-19 pandemic on economic growth. We utilize data from various Caribbean countries, considering six dimensions of governance quality, trade openness, inflation, investment, and human capital. This comprehensive approach ensures a nuanced understanding of the region's economic landscape during these turbulent times. Our findings expose a significant negative association between the various dimensions of governance and the ongoing pandemic crisis. Specifically, governance indicators such as voice and accountability, rule of law, political stability, and absence of violence, along with government effectiveness, emerge as positive catalysts for economic growth. On the contrary, the control of corruption and regulatory quality demonstrate a notable negative impact on growth. Furthermore, our research unveils that investment and human capital significantly contribute to boosting output growth in the Caribbean. Conversely, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and trade openness is observed to be detrimental to economic growth. These findings corroborate existing empirical evidence on the governance-growth nexus, underscoring the complex interplay between governance and economic development. These results emphasize the urgency of long-term strategies to enhance governance quality in Caribbean countries. It is imperative to bolster the capacity of governments to address future epidemic episodes, recognizing the persistent threat of pandemics. Policymakers should prioritize measures that promote voice and accountability, rule of law, political stability, and government effectiveness while addressing corruption and regulatory quality issues. This research holds profound significance for both academics and policymakers, offering a pathway to stable and sustainable long-term economic growth and calling for proactive preparedness in the face of future global health challenges. It also invites further research in this critical area. JEL Classifications: F63, O10, C33, C01 Keywords: COVID-19, virus, governance quality, economic growth, Caribbean, panel-random effects model, INTRODUCTION The novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on the economies in the Caribbean and elsewhere. This is reflected in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths, [...]

This paper examines the Indonesian government's policy response under the PEN (National Economic Recovery) programme aimed at assisting MSMEs during the COVID-19 crisis. The findings show that the scheme significantly benefited the enterprises. Credit restructuring and interest subsidy programmes offered critical assistance to the beneficiaries and improved their access to credit options. Moreover, the Productive Government Assistance for Micro Businesses (BPUM) initiative enabled the beneficiary enterprises to address emergency working capital needs required during the pandemic. However, this study also identifies several hurdles that reduced the effectiveness of the PEN programme. These challenges could have been overcome by striking a balance between banked and unbanked MSMEs, maintaining reliable databases for targeted recipients, and strengthening coordination between the various agencies involved. Keywords: Indonesia, MSMEs, COVID-19, PEN programme, 1. Introduction The damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Indonesian economy was first observed in 2020. After growing positively in the first quarter of 2020 by 3 per [...]

The covid-19 pandemic severely disrupted the education system in Canada from March 2020 throughout the 2020-21 school year. It also had disproportionate secondary effects on women in terms of unpaid care, economic loss, and poor mental health. This article explores the lived experience of women educators in the province of Alberta, drawing on interviews and focus groups with 39 educators. Findings indicate that the pandemic not only exacerbated the triple burden that women educators, in particular, bear but added additional layers of responsibility related to public health management, educating children at home, elder care responsibilities, and emotional labour. The essential role women educators fulfilled within the covid-19 response, at work and at home, cost them time, professional development opportunities, mental wellness, and the positive rewards that had drawn them to the educational field. Current concerns around educator burnout and retention may be mitigated by acting on the recommendations of women educators regarding the development of more equitable education systems and social policy. Keywords: gender, women, education, Canada, Alberta, covid-19, health, feminist, care economy La pandemie de covid-19 a gravement perturbe le systeme educatif au Canada a partir de mars 2020 tout au long de l'annee scolaire 2020-2021. Elle a egalement eu des effets secondaires disproportionnes sur les femmes au point de vue soins non remuneres, perte economique et mauvaise sante mentale. Cet article explore l'experience vecue des educatrices dans la province de l'Alberta, en s'appuyant sur des entrevues et des groupes de discussion avec 39 educatrices. Les resultats indiquent que la pandemie a non seulement exacerbe le triple fardeau que portent les educatrices, en particulier, mais a ajoute des niveaux supplementaires de responsabilite lies a la gestion de la sante publique, a l'education des enfants a la maison, aux responsabilites des soins aux personnes agees et au travail emotionnel. Le role essentiel joue par les educatrices dans le cadre de la reponse a la covid-19, au travail et a la maison, leur a coute du temps, des possibilites d'avancement professionnel, le bien-etre mental et les recompenses positives qui les avaient attirees vers le domaine de l'education. Les preoccupations actuelles concernant l'epuisement et la retention des educatrices peuvent etre attenuees en agissant sur les recommandations des educatrices concernant le developpement de systemes educatifs et de politiques sociales plus equitables. Mots clefs : genre, femmes, education, Canada, Alberta, covid-19, sante, feministe, economie des soins, ON 15 MARCH 2020, THE ALBERTA government announced the closure of all schools and daycares, in response to the growing covid-19 pandemic. The shuttering of schools lasted for the remainder [...]

The study examined the effectiveness of the signaling theory and the efficient market hypothesis in Nigeria during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic which has been an underexplored investigation in the Nigerian capital market. The broad objective of the study was to assess how earning announcements could affect the stock prices of deposit money banks in Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to analyse the trend of stock prices and examine the reactions of stock prices of quoted DMBs to earnings announcements during a pandemic period in Nigeria. The study employed secondary data from daily closing stock prices of 13 selected banks and the All Share Index (ASI) between 2019 and 2020, sourced from the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The Log-in model, Event-study methodology and the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) test were used to analyse the data. The event-study methodology employed the market model to estimate the expected returns and abnormal returns during the event window. For the weak form of the market efficiency test, ADF was used to test for the presence of unit roots in the time series. Findings from the study showed that 69.23% of banks' stocks in the Nigerian capital market had negative growth, while 30.77% had positive growth during the period. That abnormal returns around announcement days were not statistically significant as abnormal returns of banks that announced an increase or decrease in earnings were -0.01007 (-0.00533) with t-stat values of -0.30355 (-0.16428) respectively. The implication of the findings is that investors could not earn cumulative abnormal returns during the event window and the abnormal returns of most of the banks had an inverse relationship with earnings announcements. Based on these findings, the study recommended, amongst others, that investors should avoid mispriced stocks while investing in index funds in order to earn market average returns and that regulatory authorities should monitor banks listed on the Nigerian stock exchange to guard against abuse of insider information to the detriment of investors. JEL Classifications: G12, G14, G15, G21 Keywords: signaling, efficient market hypothesis, earnings announcements, event-study methodology, market model, COVID-19 pandemic., INTRODUCTION An earnings announcement is information released by a firm about its past financial performance which is usually available in the national dailies and the firm's website. It is a [...]

India's pharmaceutical sector has been one of the largest manufacturers of generic drugs globally. During the pandemic, most countries were dependent on imports of generic drugs from India. However, India has been relying on resources from China for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) which are the raw material for preparing generic drugs. We considered, in our analysis, branded product groups of Paracetamol and Amoxicillin due to their extensive use in the treatment of COVID-19. From a thorough market analysis of both the drugs, we conclude that firms have a monopoly over their brands but compete within the same product group and operate in their respective market under varying prices within certain bandwidths which resembles the feature of monopolistic competitive market. We have introduced compensating function a la Helpman (1981) in the pharmaceutical goods market with the assumption that an 'ideal product' exists among the pharmaceutical goods. Given the framework, this paper explores a general equilibrium model set in a monopolistic competitive product market for branded drugs. We concluded through our propositions that expanding the pharmaceutical sector will increase the employment of unskilled labor under no capacity constraint. We will observe an increase in wages of unskilled labor only under full employment conditions wherein we would observe that the expansion of pharmaceutical good will increase wages in the unskilled labor market. However we obtain an intriguing result wherein we obtain that despite instances of limiting trade dependence on China through implementation of policies like 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' and 'profit linked incentive schemes', yet to maintain the status quo in the global market for generic drugs, India's dependence on China would increase, owing to API imports due to the pandemic crisis. While India can grab the opportunity in the form of increased demand for pharmaceutical goods to increase the employment level of the economy but this improvement in welfare is also dependent on the degree of dependency of API India has on China. The Indian government has recognized the same through the incorporation of 'Covid-Suraksha' and PLI schemes to minimize import dependency, and accelerate the development of APIs and the production of indigenous drugs. JEL Classifications: F12, F13, F14 Keywords: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, Export ban, trade effects, COVID-19, international trade, INTRODUCTION The trade orientation and economic growth of the two Asian economic giants, namely China and India, have received close attention from researchers over the last two decades. The India-China [...]

The debate on the exchange rate--oil price nexus usually rests on the fact that oil price is quoted in US dollar (USD) and therefore, fluctuations in oil price may affect the exchange rate behavior of trading nations through the USD. However, it might be inaccurate to generalize the dynamic of the nexus for both net oil-exporting and net oil-importing economies particularly when exchange rates in these economies are running under floating regime. As a result, we revisit the dynamics of returns and volatility spillovers between exchange rates and oil prices in the turbulent period of COVID-19 from the perspective of the oil-exporting/oil-importing dichotomy, using the cases of Nigeria and South Africa. According to the results of the various pre-estimation tests, we find the VARMA-DCC-GARCH model to be the best fit for modelling the interdependence of exchange rates and oil prices in the investigated economies. Empirically, \we show that regardless of the oil-exporting or oil-importing peculiarity of an economy, unanticipated events in exchange rates and oil prices in the current period have the potential to fuel volatility in their returns in the preceding period. Also, not only is the magnitude and direction of the spillovers different under the different waves of COVID-19 but also sensitive to whether an economy is oil-exporting or oil-importing. Thus, while South Africa and Nigeria are among the top 5 African countries with the highest incidences of COVID-19, the permanency or transitory dynamics of the shocks to exchange rates and oil prices during the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be sensitive to whether an economy is oil-exporting or oil-importing. It is in view of this, among other things, that we herein infer that while the immediate policy response to an exogenous shock such as COVID-19 may be global and general for all countries, as is the case with the lockdown initiative, the long-run efforts at recovering from the shock may require that the peculiarities of the individual economies be taken into consideration, as is obvious from the findings of this study. JEL Classifications: F31; O55; Q41 Keywords: Exchange rates; Oil prices; COVID-19; Nigeria; South Africa, INTRODUCTION Since the emerging of the theoretical paper pioneered by Krugman (1983) and Golub (1983), the debate on the exchange rate--oil price nexus usually rests on the fact that oil [...]

This paper studies the impact of COVID-19 on different demographic groups in the Thai labour market using the Labour Force Surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019. We construct a new set of COVID-19 impact indicators capturing both the degree of risk in industries and the degree of occupational flexibility in the Thai context. The results show that the effect of COVID-19 is highly divergent across demographic groups, which may further worsen the pre-existing inequality in the Thai labour market, given the composition of industrial sectors and occupations. The results also indicate that education attainments and income levels play a significant role in protecting individuals, suggesting the key contribution of human capital. In addition, marriage affects men and women workers differently during the crisis, with married women appearing to suffer more. Finally, this study highlights the need for targeted government support to vulnerable groups, including workers with low education, informal sector workers, private employees, older women and the young, who are more likely to be affected by COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19, labour market, demographics, Thailand, 1. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented worldwide economic recession. With lockdowns and social distancing, labour markets have been hit severely and many people are suffering from the [...]

The aim of this study was to measure the impacts of COVID-19 on tourism entrepreneurs and business owners in Greece. For that purpose, electronic questionnaires were distributed to 548 tourism professionals coming from the domestic hotel, culinary, and travel agencies sectors. Furthermore, responses came from almost all the major tourist destinations of the country. The analysis of the data included several statistical techniques such as Factor Analysis, Parametric Tests (Independent T-tests and one-way ANOVA), Mediation and Bootstrap analyses. The results indicated that COVID-19 is expected to reshape Greece's tourism model, calling authorities to apply certain development policies for limiting the negative consequences of the new virus in the domestic tourism sector and in the national economy in general. Moreover, the impact of COVID-19 is differentiated on a firm and on a personal level. Firstly, small firms that operate in the culinary sector were more vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. Likewise, persons with lower educational backgrounds and women were also more impacted by COVID-19 outbreak. In this context, policies for recovery should focus in reducing inequalities in the domestic tourism industry and strengthening social cohesion, moving towards more sustainable tourism models. The results are expected to help tourism authorities and local actors in Greece to take measures and apply policies for addressing effectively the problems that occurred in the domestic tourism industry due to the COVID-19 outbreak, aiming to enhance sustainability in the sector. Considering the importance that tourism plays for the Greek economy in terms of employment and turnover, addressing the problems of the pandemic gains growing importance. Lastly, the problems that arise from the research, which concern tourism professionals will assist state authorities to take immediate measures to support entrepreneurship and to ensure that tourism will remain the most dynamic sector of the Greek economy in the post-COVID-19 era. JEL Classifications: Z30; Z32; Z39 Keywords: COVID-19, Tourism Enterprises, Impact, Greece, INTRODUCTION Corona-virus pandemic (Covid-19) initially occurred in January 2020 in China in the Province of Wuhan and was considered as local issue (Niewiadomski, 2020). However, since March 2020, due to [...]

As in any organization, microenterprises owe their survival to their ability to adapt to changes in their environments. Informal microenterprises in Mali, particularly those run by women, also have to deal with the economic upheaval caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This research is exploratory and aims to understand the adaptation of informal microenterprises run by women in a crisis context. To do so, a multiple case analysis is conducted. The results reveal the flexibility factors of the actions undertaken by informal women entrepreneurs to face the Covid-19 crisis. The perseverance of these women and their management style based on relational skills, as well as their mastery of the culinary arts linked to their role of 'expert of the kitchen' in Malian society allowed their business to adapt to the context of the crisis. In addition to these individual characteristics and socio-cultural factors, women entrepreneurs adopted strategies such as adjusting working hours and diversifying into new activities. This research contributes to the literature by highlighting the combined effect of individual factors, gender-related socio-cultural factors, and management style on microenterprise flexibility in times of crisis. Keywords: Covid-19, agri-food microenterprise, flexibility, gender, management style. * Corresponding author, Introduction In sub-Saharan Africa, despite the rapid economic and social transformations witnessed over the past 15 years, the informal economy continues to represent a considerable section of the overall economy [...]

As with all start-ups, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a changing environment for migrant start-ups. These changes have posed many challenges to altering strategic behaviour and approaches to driving business. We explored migrant start-ups' embeddedness in entrepreneurial ecosystems by analysing data from 14 semi-structured interviews with start-ups from Berlin's knowledge-intensive business services sector. We argue that the success of migrant start-ups during crises is dependent mainly on the embeddedness in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Thus, we expect entrepreneurs to utilise local networks, infrastructures and interactions to help them cope with the challenges and pave the way for local and international business activities. Our results indicate that embedding in local entrepreneurial ecosystems and a sense of belonging, especially during the business formation phase, play a vital role for migrant start-ups in general and crisis. Revitalising the concept of local embeddedness while considering business development stages, this study challenges the prevailing notion of transnational networks as the sole determinant of entrepreneurial success. Instead, we advocate for greater recognition of the significance of accessing local resources, including market knowledge, social relationships, and institutional support, as fundamental factors driving business development and crisis management within the host country. By recognising and nurturing these local resources, policymakers and support organisations can create an enabling environment that empowers migrant start-ups to thrive, adapt, and contribute to the local EE and economic wealth. Key words: migrant entrepreneurship, migrant start-ups transnationalism; translocal embeddedness COVID-19; crisis; entrepreneurial ecosystem, Introduction Migrant start-up activities are an essential indicator of economic development, as they are instrumental in creatively combining research results into new products and business models and commercialising these innovations [...]

Byline: Shoaib Anwer, Dr. Israr Ahmed, Sharique Ayubi and Khawaja Masood Raza Keywords: Risk perception, Behavioural factors, Investment decision-making, Covid-19, Investor behaviour 1. Introduction Investing capital in various financial instruments [...]

In a pandemic such as Covid-19, effective communication plays a key role both in crisis management and in the efforts to ensure public health and safety. Consequently, understanding public trust in different information sources is one of the most important aspects in designing effective communication strategies. This article explores public trust in different information sources in the context of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, and asks: Firstly, which information sources do people mostly trust in a pandemic? Secondly, does trust in different information sources vary across peoples' gender, age, education level, stream of education, employment status, socio-economic background, religion and political affiliation, and if so, how does trust in information sources vary across these socio-demographic characteristics? Using primary data from an urban sample, we employ binary probit models to obtain the determinants of individuals' most trusted information source during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our paper finds that there are differences in the trust that individuals place in different information sources. These differences vary in magnitude and significance across different socio-demographic characteristics, and our evidence insists that we take into account these differences when steering policy. In particular, we find that most of the urban population of Bangladesh mostly trust the government and administration as a source of information during a pandemic such as Covid-19. On the other hand, media celebrities and politicians are among the least trusted information sources. In addition, our results reveal that the government and administration face, as an information source, a trust deficit among females, Muslim people and Bangla medium and English medium educated people as compared to people with no formal education. Our findings provide valuable information to policymakers on how to best disseminate critical information to reach different populations, e.g., females, non-Muslims, not formally educated individuals. Based on our findings, we recommend targeted community engagement, tailored according to the trust in information sources of different groups of individuals, and we advocate for the increased involvement of government authorities, administration and academicians in disseminating Covid-19 related information. JEL Classifications: I10, I18, I19 and D83 Keywords: Bangladesh, Covid-19, Communication, Information source, Trust. Corresponding Author's Email Address: rubaiya@du.ac.bd, INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest and most comprehensive behavior-change initiatives of our times. If anything, it has revealed that it is often difficult to get the [...]

Food security is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals where it focuses explicitly on food by seeking to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. However, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown distorted the food system and affected households' capacity to meet its nutritional needs. This study evaluated the effect of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on households in Jos Metropolis, Plateau State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 265 households. Data was collected using well-structured questionnaire. The analytical techniques were; Descriptive statistics, FDT Food security index and Z-Statistics Test. The findings indicated that 53% of the household heads were female while 47% were male. The mean age of the respondents was 34 years; the mean Household size was 4 persons. Most of the household heads (68%) were not members of cooperative societies. The result indicated that cereals, legumes/grains, oils/fat, roots and tubers, sugar and honey and meats were the most common food consumed by the households daily before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Result of food security status indicated that households consumed an average daily calorie intake of 5860.52 which is higher than the estimate of 1707.88 calorie consumed by the food insecure households. Covid-19 pandemic had effect (p JEL Classifications: Q01, Q18, Keywords: Effect, Covid-19 lockdown, Food Security, Urban Households, Plateau State. Corresponding Author's Email Address: solocom2012@gmail.com, INTRODUCTION The concern for food security is a cornerstone in the development process for every country to weaken the vicious cycle of poverty among the teeming populace of developed and [...]

In a pandemic such as Covid-19, effective communication plays a key role both in crisis management and in the efforts to ensure public health and safety. Consequently, understanding public trust in different information sources is one of the most important aspects in designing effective communication strategies. This article explores public trust in different information sources in the context of Covid-19 in Bangladesh, and asks: Firstly, which information sources do people mostly trust in a pandemic? Secondly, does trust in different information sources vary across peoples' gender, age, education level, stream of education, employment status, socio-economic background, religion and political affiliation, and if so, how does trust in information sources vary across these socio-demographic characteristics? Using primary data from an urban sample, we employ binary probit models to obtain the determinants of individuals' most trusted information source during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our paper finds that there are differences in the trust that individuals place in different information sources. These differences vary in magnitude and significance across different socio-demographic characteristics, and our evidence insists that we take into account these differences when steering policy. In particular, we find that most of the urban population of Bangladesh mostly trust the government and administration as a source of information during a pandemic such as Covid-19. On the other hand, media celebrities and politicians are among the least trusted information sources. In addition, our results reveal that the government and administration face, as an information source, a trust deficit among females, Muslim people and Bangla medium and English medium educated people as compared to people with no formal education. Our findings provide valuable information to policymakers on how to best disseminate critical information to reach different populations, e.g., females, non-Muslims, not formally educated individuals. Based on our findings, we recommend targeted community engagement, tailored according to the trust in information sources of different groups of individuals, and we advocate for the increased involvement of government authorities, administration and academicians in disseminating Covid-19 related information. JEL Classifications: I10, I18, I19 and D83 Keywords: Bangladesh, Covid-19, Communication, Information source, Trust. Corresponding Author's Email Address: rubaiya@du.ac.bd, INTRODUCTION The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the largest and most comprehensive behavior-change initiatives of our times. If anything, it has revealed that it is often difficult to get the [...]

Food security is one of the targets of Sustainable Development Goals where it focuses explicitly on food by seeking to end hunger, achieve food security, improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. However, the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown distorted the food system and affected households' capacity to meet its nutritional needs. This study evaluated the effect of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on households in Jos Metropolis, Plateau State, Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used to select 265 households. Data was collected using well-structured questionnaire. The analytical techniques were; Descriptive statistics, FDT Food security index and Z-Statistics Test. The findings indicated that 53% of the household heads were female while 47% were male. The mean age of the respondents was 34 years; the mean Household size was 4 persons. Most of the household heads (68%) were not members of cooperative societies. The result indicated that cereals, legumes/grains, oils/fat, roots and tubers, sugar and honey and meats were the most common food consumed by the households daily before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Result of food security status indicated that households consumed an average daily calorie intake of 5860.52 which is higher than the estimate of 1707.88 calorie consumed by the food insecure households. Covid-19 pandemic had effect (p JEL Classifications: Q01, Q18, Keywords: Effect, Covid-19 lockdown, Food Security, Urban Households, Plateau State., INTRODUCTION The concern for food security is a cornerstone in the development process for every country to weaken the vicious cycle of poverty among the teeming populace of developed and [...]

This study aims to explore the labour market in Thailand during the COVID-19 era. By using individual data from the National Statistical Office of Thailand, we estimate the probability of a worker becoming unemployed and being temporarily absent from work. The results demonstrate that the pandemic could cause a higher chance of being unemployed for younger workers. However, the chance of being temporarily absent from work increased for older and less-educated workers. Each sector was affected differently by the pandemic. Workers in large firms were more likely to be unemployed, suggesting that the pandemic disproportionately affected large firms, compared to micro, small or medium-sized enterprises. Keywords: COVID-19, labour market, sectoral unemployment, Thailand., 1. Introduction Government and individual behavioural responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have strongly affected Thai labour markets. During the pandemic, the unemployment rate and the number of workers who were [...]

Using the mobility restrictions implemented by Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, this paper relies on detailed data on employment patterns and on the possibility to work from home and without physical proximity to estimate the extent and distribution of jobs most vulnerable to mobility restrictions. It finds that about 64.5 per cent of jobs in Malaysia cannot be performed from home, after adjusting for Internet access, while about 50.9 per cent of jobs require high levels of physical proximity. These are the jobs that are most vulnerable to strict mobility restrictions, such as those imposed during the pandemic. Workers most at risk are primarily those with relatively low education, low level of income and advanced or very young age. Jobs in less developed regions of Malaysia are also particularly vulnerable. Against this backdrop, the paper argues that Malaysia's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic provides some vital lessons in supporting those who are most vulnerable to job losses during mobility restrictions. These lessons include improving the targeting of cash transfers, scaling up wage subsidies in supporting worker retention and hiring and leveraging upskilling/reskilling initiatives with a focus on non-routine cognitive analytical and interpersonal skills. Keywords: Employment, skills, social protection, COVID-19, mobility restrictions, Malaysia., 1. Introduction Malaysia has been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent mobility restrictions implemented to flatten the curve of the pandemic. The health and human toll of [...]