Economics of Ebola initiative

The IGC is supporting the Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia by centrally collating both IGC and non-IGC research on the economic impacts of Ebola, in order to make their policy implications more accessible.

Early analysis indicates that the economic costs of the Ebola outbreak will be significant, including panic, loss in confidence, reduction in market interactions, the breakdown of formal systems and institutions, a reduced supply of essential goods, and potentially increased prices. The IGC is committed to providing the Governments of Sierra Leone and Liberia, as well as their development partners, with demand-led research and analysis to ensure that policy responses are evidence-based and that corrective actions are effective and well targeted.

Under the current special call for proposals, the IGC is funding seven research projects across Sierra Leone and Liberia on the economic impacts of the crisis. The IGC also welcomes research requests from policymakers and development partners on emerging policy questions.

The IGC is producing a series of bulletins on the economic impact of Ebola which summarise IGC-funded research fundings on this topic. These bulletins are available below.

The IGC is currently funding these projects as part of this initiative:

• A study of the economic impact of the Ebola crisis on Monrovians living on US$1 a day or less
• How did Ebola impact the economic lives of adolescent girls? Evidence on pregnancies, human capital accumulation, and labour force participation in Sierra Leone
• Population-based surveys to inform Ebola recovery
• The economic impacts of Ebola on firms in Sierra Leone
• The economic implications of Ebola on markets, traders and food security
• The effect of the Ebola outbreak on political trust, attitudes, and voting behaviour
• The impact of the Ebola outbreak on firms in Liberia
• Using SMS data to improve Ebola models and estimate the impact of Ebola on healthcare seeking behaviour in Liberia 

IGC researchers Rachel Glennerster and Tavneet Suri are also supporting a World Bank project on The socio-economic impacts of Ebola in Sierra Leone.