The Ebola outbreak in West Africa may be disrupting local economies, and if so, the long-term impact could be considerable. Reports have circulated that the virus has increased prices, reduced the availability of essential goods, and impacted agricultural production, yet there is little to no quantitative data to back these claims and inform appropriate policy responses. There is a great need, therefore, to monitor economic impacts in real time and provide accurate date to governments and their development partners. This research in Sierra Leone aims to help fill the information gap and supply policymakers with timely updates to address the crisis in both the short- and long-term.
Note: This is not a randomized controlled trial.
Context of the Evaluation:Since its initial appearance in March 2014 in rural Guinea, the Ebola virus has spread to three other West African countries. As of November 12, 2014, Sierra Leone has had more than 4,900 confirmed cases and nearly 1,200 deaths.1 The situation has become even more challenging as the virus has now taken hold in the capital, Freetown. Two of the country’s fourteen districts have been quarantined for over two months, an additional three districts were quarantined in mid-September, and certain areas of the capital are also under isolation.
In partnership with the World Bank, IPA is supporting Statistics Sierra Leone (SSL) with on-the-ground technical assistance and supervision for a monthly household survey that measures the economic impacts of the Ebola virus over time.
Details of the Intervention:This multi-round survey is a tool for monitoring the socio-economic and service delivery impacts of the Ebola virus. IPA and Statistics Sierra Leone will jointly administer the cell phone survey to a subsample of households taken from a national survey. The focus of the data collection is on economic indicators – such as the functioning of labor markets, the availability of foodstuffs, agricultural production, other health outcomes.
We aim to conduct a 20-minute survey at monthly intervals, with some questions administered every month and other questions rotated into the questionnaire based on the situation at the time.
The questionnaire will incorporate baseline information from the nationally-representative Labor Force Survey (SLLFS), administered in 2014, to capture changes and, due to the brief nature of this survey, to target and streamline data collection.
Results and Policy Lessons:Results forthcoming.
[1] Source: CDC Ebola Outbreak Monitoring, http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/outbreaks/2014-west-africa/index.html
