The Socioeconomic Impact of COVID-19 in Urban Informal Settlements

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has reached almost every corner of the world. Without a pharmaceutical solution, governments have been forced to implement regulations and public policies to control social behavior and prevent the spread of the virus. There is dramatic evidence of the social and economic effects of these measures and their disparate impact on vulnerable communities. Individuals living in urban informal settlements are in a structurally disadvantaged position to cope with a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines the socioeconomic impact of the crisis brought by the pandemic in informal settlements in Chile. We use a three-wave panel study to compare the situation in informal settlements before and during the health crisis. We show that households living in informal settlements are paying a high toll. Their employment loss is dramatic, substantially larger than the loss reported in the general population, and has particularly affected the inmigrant population. We also find that the pandemic has triggered neighborhood cooperation within the settlements. Targeted government assistance programs have reached these communities; however, this group’s coverage is not enough to counteract the magnitude of the crisis. Our results suggest that governments, the non-profit sector, and the community need to urgently provide economic support and protections to individuals living in informal settlements and consider this opportunity for long-term improvements in these marginalized communities.HighlightsGovernments have implemented large-scale non-pharmaceutical interventions to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemicThese measures have had dramatic social and economic effects on the population, particularly affecting vulnerable communitiesIndividuals living in urban informal settlements are in a structurally disadvantaged position to cope with this crisisUsing panel data, we document a dramatic employment loss among informal settlements dwellers, substantially larger than the general populationThe pandemic has also triggered neighborhood cooperation within the settlements as well as targeted government assistance, but not enough to counteract the magnitude of the economic loss

Changes to household income in a Kenyan informal settlement during COVID-19

“…Cramped living conditions and dependence on often-limited communal water and sanitation facilities increase vulnerability to infectious disease transmission, while many household's incomes were insufficient to meet daily household needs even before the pandemic, implying a high level of vulnerability to interruptions in income (2). However, due to a lack of census data making it difficult to identify a representative sample and the high mobility of these populations, to date no representative longitudinal cohort studies have quantified the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents of informal settlements (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9).…”

Vaccination Is Not Enough: Understanding the Increase in Cases of COVID-19 in Chile despite a High Vaccination Rate

“…The establishment of a constitutional state of emergency for public health purposes only a year after similar measures had been taken for social unrest further deepened the preexisting inequalities. The most vulnerable, i.e., those experiencing poverty, overcrowded living conditions and malnutrition and relying on informal sector jobs were the hardest hit by the pandemic, a reality that reflected the wider debate in Chile about the country's inequalities [18,19]. Despite Chile having relatively low levels of informal labour (30%) compared to Latin America (53%), many women and men could not stay at home since they need to earn an income to feed themselves and their families, as most of them cannot rely on income replacement or savings [20].…”

Dignificando la Gestión de Riesgo de Desastres: liderazgos femeninos y estrategias comunitarias en el Campamento Dignidad, Santiago de Chile

“…Además, como los asentamientos informales suelen estar marginados de los servicios básicos, existe una falta de sanitización e ingesta de agua potable, impactando negativamente en la salud de las personas [...]" (Banco Mundial, 2020) En la práctica, las consecuencias de la pandemia se hicieron evidentes a partir del mes de mayo de 2020, donde se evidenciaron en el desempleo y por ende en la inseguridad alimentaria al interior del Campamento Dignidad. Esto tuvo su origen en el endurecimiento de las medidas restrictivas de circulación y en la deficiente asistencia económica de emergencia por parte del gobierno, la cual no alcanzó a suplir las necesidades alimentarias básicas de la población (para una visión más global de este fenómeno, revisar Gil et al, 2021).…”