Analysis of Economic Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Kenyan Economy

Abstract

COVID-19 virus can be described as one of the worst global pandemic ever experienced in the 21st Century. Focusing on the pandemic the study main objective was to analyze direct and indirect economic effect of COVID-19 pandemic and establish the extent to which the virus has affected Kenya’s key economic sectors contributing to the country’s GDP. The study adopts a content analysis approach whose aim is to describe COVID-19 phenomenon. The study relies on diverse secondary database not limited to: World Health Organization (WHO) on COVID-19 trends, IMF, UNDP, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), KNBS, IPAR, ICA and KIPPRA among others. Data Analysis results reveal that COVID-19 poses an unprecedented shock by disrupting economic activity. Kenya’s current account deficits has declined drastically in capital flows. The GDP in 2020 shrank to 1.1% from. 5.7% .The country is also experiencing risk of collapse of health systems that is under pressure from spread of the virus; households have fallen into poverty; and a huge number of losses of employment have been experienced across all sectors estimated to about 4.64 million. Whereas the Kenyan Government focuses on re-engineering the economy by implementing economic stimuli package of fiscal, monetary, wage, and social protection policies aimed to arrest the economic recession. The study recommends that the government may consider sovereign debt restructurings; expansion of loan programs to firms and households in the formal sector and cash transfers to cushion vulnerable households in the informal sector and promote recovery of the economy.

Widening inequities in clean cooking fuel use and food security: compounding effects of COVID-19 restrictions and VAT on LPG in a Kenyan informal urban settlement

“…Due to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Kenyan Government implemented several containment measures, including a nationwide duskto-dawn curfew, closure of schools, restaurants and businesses and restrictions on public gatherings. In the five weeks after implementation of these restrictions, household incomes declined by up to onethird [23] and over 4.6 million Kenyans lost their employment [24], The negative impact on livelihoods was particularly severe among Kenyan informal sector workers [25].…”

System Dynamics Modeling for Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 on Food Supply Chains: A Case Study of Kenya and Rwanda

“…It is also important to point out that AI data-driven methods do not account for the interactions and linkages between system components and elements. On the other hand, some studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition security have used econometric models [13,20]. However, considering the complexity of the system of food and nutrition security, lockdowns, government measures, and household income under the COVID-19 pandemic [13,21,22], a holistic approach, such as systems thinking and system dynamics, becomes key.…”

“…15. Females and males were influenced differently by COVID-19, which in certain situations, contributed to an increase in gender-based violence [20]. However, we did not account for gender differences.…”

Full Issue

“…The Covid-19 pandemic has affected most parts of the world in various ways (Akrofi and Antwi 2020;Ayanlade and Radeny 2020;Gautam and Hens 2020;Granich, Gupta and Williams 2022;Kamel and Mousa 2020;Siringi 2022;Susilawati, Falefi and Purwoko 2020;Yadav and Iqbal 2021), which necessitated that almost all countries develop mechanisms to at least survive the pandemic. Even though countries have struggled throughout the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has remained steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that safety and health precautions are followed by communities worldwide.…”