The Barbados COVID-19 Household Survey – Round 2 (2020) provides one of the most comprehensive datasets for analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on the Barbadian economy, particularly on household welfare, labor market shifts, and financial resilience.

Developed as a panel study following the 2016 Barbados Survey of Living Conditions (BSLC), this dataset enables researchers and policymakers to track pre- and post-pandemic socioeconomic outcomes. It is a key resource for understanding how the COVID-19 crisis disrupted household livelihoods and economic activity in Barbados.

Survey Context: Understanding COVID-19’s Economic Effects

Conducted by Sistemas Integrales with support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), this two-round survey gathered real-time data in 2020:

• Round 1 (May–June 2020): Phone interviews with 896 households covered income, employment, spending, remittances, and access to social protection programs.
• Round 2 (November 2020): Follow-up with 758 households focused on labor market conditions, business operations, and continued financial stress.

These rounds provide critical longitudinal insights into the evolving economic impact of the pandemic on Barbados.

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Key Features for Economic Impact Analysis

• Panel design enables comparison of household economic conditions before and during COVID-19.
• Measures income changes, job loss, microenterprise disruption, and social protection coverage.
• Supports vulnerability profiling, including hunger, informal coping strategies, and benefit access.
• Facilitates targeted policy interventions to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 on Barbados.

Core Variables Capturing Economic Disruption

• Employment status: Includes job continuity, telework, sector, and unemployment insurance usage.
• Household income: Measures income at two time points (July and October 2020) and income losses.
• Financial coping: Captures use of savings, loans, asset sales, and remittance dependency.
• Business operations: Details on ownership, sector, reduced hours, or closure due to the pandemic.
• Social protection: Tracks uptake of welfare programs and changes in assistance amounts.
• Food insecurity: Identifies hunger experiences and affordability gaps.

Research and Policy Use Cases

This dataset is ideal for:

• Assessing Barbados’ economic vulnerability during COVID-19
• Quantifying the pandemic’s impact on employment and income
• Evaluating the effectiveness of government social assistance programs
• Supporting evidence-based economic recovery strategies

The availability of both household-level and individual-level data, weighted and designed for statistical analysis, makes it a vital resource for in-depth economic assessments.

Summary

This survey dataset is crucial for quantifying the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Barbados, informing both recovery policies and academic research. It provides granular evidence of how households and the broader economy were affected—making it a cornerstone resource for anyone studying the impact of COVID-19 on Barbados’ economy.