COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance Higher in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Than in Richer Countries

Researchers: Julio S. Solís Arce, Shana S. Warren, Niccolò F. Meriggi, Alexandra Scacco, Nina McMurry, Maarten Voors, Georgiy Syunyaev [...]

While global vaccine distribution has skewed heavily toward higher income countries to date, new findings suggest that prioritizing distribution to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) may be a more efficient strategy for achieving immunity on a global scale and preventing the emergence of variants than attempting to convince high-income country residents who are still hesitant to get the vaccine. The study, published in Nature Medicine this month, found 80 percent of respondents were willing to get a COVID-19 vaccine in LMICs, compared to 65 percent in the United States and 30 percent in Russia. The study, led by researchers from IPA and over 30 other institutions, provides one of the first insights into vaccine acceptance and hesitancy in a broad selection of LMICs covering over 20,000 survey respondents.

Read the published paper here, the summary here, and the press release here.

NEW PUBLICATION

The Impacts of Cash in a Pandemic

By Laura Burke, Elizabeth Koechlein, and Rachel Strohm

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to steep drops in employment, income, and access to markets, pushing tens of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries into poverty. Social protection programming has emerged as a critical response to the social and economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these programs are social assistance measures, which provide benefits to individuals even if they have not previously paid contributions into the program. Before the pandemic, cash-based social assistance has been shown to successfully reduce poverty and enhance wellbeing along a number of dimensions, across many different countries. But what is known about the extent to which cash transfers have mitigated the worst social, economic, and health impacts of the pandemic? And who has benefitted the most from such assistance?

Read the full brief here.

NEW RESULTS

The Psychosocial Value of Employment in Refugee Camps

Researchers: Reshmaan N. Hussam, Erin M. Kelley, Gregory Lane, and Fatima Tuz Zahra

Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are severely limited by regulations outlawing formal work, in addition to movement restrictions that limit access to nearby informal work, potentially contributing to poor mental health outcomes. This randomized evaluation examined the effects of employment on psychosocial wellbeing and found that employment delivers significant psychosocial wellbeing, particularly among men. Moreover, a weekly cash provision of equal value did not improve psychosocial wellbeing, and 66 percent of those who worked were willing to forego cash payments for working. The results can be used to inform social protection policies for the unemployed in low-income countries and refugee populations globally.

Read the full summary here.

BLOG

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By Ellen Bates-Jefferys and Pace Phillips

RECOVR Roundup Vol. 21: Social Protection in the Time of COVID-19
By Luciana Debenedetti, Jeffrey Mosenkis, and Rachel Strohm

Tips for Collecting Surveys of Hard-to-Reach Populations
By Sandra Rozo

RECOVR Roundup Vol. 20: Social Protection in the Time of COVID-19
By Luciana Debenedetti, Jeffrey Mosenkis, and Rachel Strohm

Are Mobile Payments Reaching Men and Women Equally? Latest Findings on How G2P Payments Are Working in Bangladesh
By Kate Glynn-Broderick and Liz Koechlein

RECOVR Roundup Vol. 19: Social Protection in the Time of COVID-19
By Luciana Debenedetti, Jeffrey Mosenkis, and Rachel Strohm