Prior to COVID-19, Eswatini faced numerous developmental challenges with stagnating poverty and economic growth. Lockdown measures wereintroduced from 17 March, including schools closures, limitations on public and private gatherings, the suspension of non-essential travel within cities, and...

Prior to COVID-19, Rwanda was booming, with economic growth exceeding ten percent in 2019. Strong growth has been accompanied by significant improvements across various human development indicators, such as poverty reduction and rising life expectancy. The pandemic has placed much of this...

This note uses administrative tax data for formal firms to measure the direct impact of lockdown restrictions on firms’ profitability, employment, and exit rates. The authors separate the economy into three categories, according to the size of the shock experienced, and consider two lockdown...