Phone Survey Data:

Monitoring COVID-19
Impact on Firms and
Households in Ethiopia
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Despite the closure of borders around the world and aggressive
containment measures, COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to spread
globally and has reached Ethiopia. While the current battle to keep
new infections low continues in Ethiopia, this is not a guarantee of
immunity from either the virus or the economic fallout. The World
Health Organization warns that Africa should be prepared for the
worst, and Ethiopia is no exception.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its negative economic effects create an

urgent need for timely data and evidence to help monitor and mitigate
the social and economic impacts of the crisis and protect the welfare
of the least well-off in Ethiopia’s society. To monitor the impacts of the
COVID-19 pandemic on Ethiopia’s economy and people and inform
interventions and policy responses, the World Bank Ethiopia team, in
collaboration with the government, designed and implemented two
high-frequency phone surveys, one with firms and one with
households.  

Firm COVID-19 monitoring survey

The phone monitoring survey of firms monitors the effects of and
responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on firm operations, hiring and
firing, and expectations of future operations and labor demand. To
assess the impact on firms, the team took a stratified sample from an
administrative register of all formal firms in Addis Ababa, Adama,
Bahir Dar, Hawassa, and Mekelle. Survey data collection began in
mid-April 2020 and firms are called back every three weeks for a total
of eight survey rounds, allowing to support decision making on
possible policy responses and assessing the effectiveness of
government interventions as they are being implemented.

Policy briefs firm COVID-19 monitoring survey

 Policy Brief firm COVID monitoring survey: round 1

 Table of indicators firm COVID monitoring survey: round 1

Household COVID-19 monitoring

survey
The potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Ethiopia are
expected to be severe on Ethiopian households’ welfare. To monitor
these impacts on households, the team selected a subsample of
households that had been interviewed for the Living Standards
Measurement Study (LSMS) in 2019, covering urban and rural areas
in all regions of Ethiopia. The 15-minute questionnaire covers a series
of topics, such as knowledge of COVID and mitigation measures,
access to routine healthcare as public health systems are increasingly
under stress, access to educational activities during school closures,
employment dynamics, household income and livelihood, income loss
and coping strategies, and external assistance.

The survey is implemented using Computer Assisted Telephone

Interviewing, using a modular approach, which allows for modules to
be dropped and/or added in different waves of the survey. Survey data
collection started at the end of April 2020 and households are called
back every three to four weeks for a total of seven survey rounds to
track the impact of the pandemic as it unfolds and inform government
action.        

Policy briefs household COVID-19 monitoring survey

 Policy Brief household COVID monitoring survey, round 1

 Table of indicators household COVID monitoring survey, round 1

Data for phone monitoring surveys

 Microdata library  (coming soon)