Spatial heterogeneity of COVID-19 impacts on urban household incomes: Between- and within-city analyses of two African countries

Abstract

This paper examines spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic on urban household incomes in Ethiopia and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. Combining new panel household surveys with spatial data, the fixed-effects regression analysis for Ethiopia finds that households in large and densely populated towns were more likely to lose their labour incomes in the early phase of the pandemic and afterwards than other households. Disadvantaged groups, such as females, low-skilled, self-employed and poor, particularly suffered in those towns. In Kinshasa, labour income-mobility elasticities are higher among workers—particularly female and low-skilled workers—who live in areas that are located farther from the city core area. The between- and within-city evidence from two Sub-Saharan African countries points to the spatial heterogeneity of COVID-19 impacts, implying the critical role of mobility and accessibility in urban agglomerations.