Hand-to-mouth work culture and the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions: experiences of selected informal sector workers in Kumasi, Ghana
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study investigated the economic impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and livelihoods. Study participants included 25 informal sector workers who were sampled purposively and conveniently. Qualitative thematic analysis was used for interpreting the data generated from the study. The findings revealed that these workers were adversely affected economically by the COVID-19 lockdown and other restrictions, disrupting their business operations, and plunging their livelihoods into extreme poverty. It was also revealed that the high number of informal sector workers in the 'hand-to-mouth' work culture category in Kumasi cited to have flouted the COVID-19 lockdown regulation due to the unbearable economic surge it had inflicted on their livelihood support systems. The study suggests that immediate economic mitigation strategies set out by the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) as well as financial agencies must factor the economic needs of the informal sector workers in the hand-to-mouth work culture category and offer them robust financial relief to assist them recover from economic impacts due to the COVID-19.
Downloads
Article Details
This open-access article is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license.
You are free to: Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially. The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms: Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
How to Cite
References
Aguiar, M., Bils, M. & Boar, C. (2019). Who are the Hand-To-Mouth? New Jersey, United States: Princeton University
Akwa, N. S. (April 2020). Coronavirus Electricity Relief Package to Cost Government 1 Billion Ghana Cedis. https://www.myjoyonline.com
Archibong, B. & Annan, F. (2020). Climate Change, Disease and Gender Gaps in Human Capital Investment. In Women and Sustainable Human Development. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 15-35.
Azumah, O. (April 2020). Mahama Demands Fairness in Distribution of Government’s Free Food. https://www.myjoyonline.com
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Remembering the 1918 influenza pandemic. https://www.cdc.gov/features/1918-flu-pandemic/index.html
Chang, S. E. (2010). Urban Disaster Recovery: A Measurement Framework with Application to the 1995 Kobe Earthquake. Disasters, 34(2), 303-327
Chang, S. E. (2012). Towards a Theory of Economic Recovery from Disasters. Int. Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, 32(2), 171-181
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approach (3rd ed.). Sage Publications, Inc. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2008-13604-000
Cromwell, A. (March 2020). Mixed Reactions Greet Possible Lockdown. https://www.myjoyonline.com
Das, J. & Sanchez-Paramo, C. (May 2020). Smart Containment: How Low-Income Countries can Tailor their Covid-19 Response. https://www.worldbank.org
Dave, R. P. (1990). Review of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes in Ghana. Gujarat: ED Press,10-12
Deloitte Ghana (April 2020). Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Economy of Ghana. www.deloitte.com/gh
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A. & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling. American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics, 5(1), 1-4. DOI: 10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11
Fan, V. Y., Jamison, D. T. & Summers, l. H. (2018). Pandemic risk: how large are the expected losses? Bull World Health Organ, 96, 129–134 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.17.199588
Gyesi, Z. K. (April 17, 2020). Begging in Lockdown: The Homeless Take Over Accra's Streets. https://www.graphic.com.gh
Goddard, A. (May 2020). Impact of COVID-19 on Ghana. https://www.lexology.com
Ikade, F. (April 2020). Mixed Reactions Trail Ghana’s Decision to Lift COVID-19 Partial Lockdown. https://venturesafrica.com
International Energy Agency (March 2020). Global Oil Demand to Decline in 2020 as Coronavirus Weighs Heavily on Markets. https://www.iea.org
International Growth Centre (April 2020). Rwanda’s Response to COVID-19 and Future Challenges. https://www.theigc.org/blog
Kahneman, D., Knetsch, J. L. & Thaler, R. (1986). Fairness as a Constraint on Profit Seeking: Entitlements in the Market. The American Economic Review, 728-741
Joy Online News (March 2020). Ashanti Region Police Vow to Deal Ruthlessly with Lockdown Offenders. https://www.mujoyonline.com
Kim, H., Sefcik, J. S. & Bradway, C. (2017). Characteristics of Qualitative Descriptive Studies: A Systematic Review. Res Nurs Health, 40(1), 23-42
Lenon, O. (April 2020). CDC Investment Works. What is the Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Nigeria? https://www.cdc.group.com
Lin, Q., Zhao, S., Gao, D., Wang, W., Yang, L. & He, D. (2020). A Conceptual Model for the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Outbreak in Wuhan, China with Individual Reaction and Government Action. International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 93, 211-216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2020.02.058
Liu, C., Zhou, Q., & Li, Y. (2020).Research and Development of Therapeutic Agents and Vaccines for COVID-19 and Related Human Coronavirus Disease.ACS Cent Sci., 25; 6(3), 315–331 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.0c00272
McKibbin, W. & Roshen, F. (2020). The Global Macroeconomic Impacts of COVID 19: Seven Scenarios. Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis (CAMA) Working Paper, Australian National University, 1- 43.
Neegaard, M. A., Olesen, F., Andersen, R. S. & Sandergaard, J. (2009). Qualitative Description-The Poor Cousin of Health Research? BMC Medical Research Methodology, 9, 52
Nehls, K., Smith, B. D. & Schneider, H. A. (2015). Video-Conferencing Interviews in Qualitative Research IN Hai-Jew, S. (Ed.). Enhancing Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research with Technology. U.S.A.: Information Science Reference (IGI Global), 140-157. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-6493-7.ch006
Nemzoff, C., Chalkidou, K., Walker, D. & Sullivan, R. (April 24, 2020). Are Strict Lockdowns Suited to Populations who Live Hand-To-Mouth? A Closer Look at Malawi. https://www.cgdev.org
OECD (May 2020). COVID-19 in Africa: Regional Socio-Economic Implications and Policy Priorities. https://www.oecd.org
Ozili, P. K. & Arun, T. G. (2020). Spillover of COVID-19: Impact on Global Economy. SSRN Electronic Journal. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.3562570
Parliament of Ghana (March 2020). The fourth session of the seventh parliament of the fourth republic of Ghana. https://www.parliament.gh
Polit, D. F. & Beck, C. T. (2014). Essentials of Nursing Research: Appraising Evidence for Nursing Practice, 8, Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health: Lippincott Willians & Wilkins: 2014. Supplement for Chapter 14: Qualitative Descriptive Studies. Retrieved from https://downloads.lww.com/wolterskluwer-vitaldtream-com/sample-content/97814511767-97-polit/samples/CS-Chapter-14.pdf
Quarshie, E. & Zigah, C. (August 7, 2017). A Hand-To-Mouth Life: The Story of Migrant Shoe-Makers in Accra. https://migratingoutofpoverty.blogspost.com
Sedgwick, P. (2013). Convenience Sampling. BMJ, 347, f6304 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f6304
Sandelowski, M. (2010). What’s in a Name? Qualitative Description Revisited. Res Nurs Health, 33(1), 77-84
Saldana, J. (2013). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Scheidel, W. (2017). The great leveler: violence and the history of inequality from the stone age to the twenty-first century. Chapter 10: the black death. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pp. 291–313. ISBN 978-0691165028.
Suranovic, S. (2015a). Surge Pricing and Price Gouging: Public Misunderstanding as a Market Imperfection. Institute for International Economic Policy Working Paper Series, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, IIEP-WP-2015-20
Suranovic, S. (2015b). Market Ethics with Trade-in an Edgeworth Box. Institute of International Economics Working Paper. United States: George Washington University
Teachout, M. & Ziptel, C. (May 2, 2020). The Economic Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Policy Brief: International Growth Centre. www.theigc.org/covid-19
Telesol (March 2020). Live Updates: Dozens Arrested for Flouting Lockdown Restrictions in Accra and Kumasi. https://telesol4g.com
Tifft, M. E. (2016). A Qualitative Descriptive Study Examining the Current State of the New York 4-H Program from a Leader’s Perspective. Fisher Digital Publications. https://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/education_etd
UNECA (2020). ECA Estimates Billions of Worth Losses in Africa due to COVID-19 Impact. https://www.uneca.org
UNDP (April 2020). Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 in Uganda. COVID-19 Policy Brief No. 1. Kampala: United Nations Development Programme
Thurlow, J. (May 2020). COVID-19 Lockdowns are Imposing Substantial Economic Costs on Countries in Africa. https://www.ifpri.org
UNIDO (2020). Coronavirus: The Economic Impact-26 May 2020. https://www.unido.org
Webb, G. R., Tierney, K. J. & Dahlhamer, J. M. (2000). Business and Disasters: Empirical Patterns and Unanswered Questions. Natural Hazards Review, 1(2), 83-90
World Health Organization (2019). Universal Health Coverage (UHC). https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/universal-health-coverage-(UHC)