AUTHOR=Khan Wajid , Zahid R. M. Ammar , Ullah Ikram , Chuadhry Muhammad Asif , Malik Saqib Yaqoob , Mughal Yasir Hayat , Batool Nazia , Begum Abida , Han Heesup , Mohamed Abdullah 

TITLE=Impact of COVID-19 on the wellbeing of micro and small entrepreneurs of rural Pakistan

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.993412

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.993412

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=According to the constitution of Pakistan, the state is responsible for the provision of necessities of life to its citizens whenever their livelihood is permanently or temporarily threatened. Covid-19 and its associated lockdowns were series of events where amenities of life around the world were seriously endangered.  Especially, hard hit were the small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) of rural Pakistan. In order to quantitatively assess the social and economic impact of Covid-19, we have interviewed the local microenterprise owners in rural Pakistan during January-February 2021 and then June 2021. Mean comparison tests were estimated for pre and post Covid-19 periods. Results reveal that Covid-19 pandemic has significantly and negatively affected wellbeing of micro and small Entrepreneurs of the regions as income of most of the sampled entrepreneurs significantly decreased during the pandemic. Disaggregated consumption analysis however revealed that nominal consumption on food, clothing, energy, health, and education all increased, except on communication, during the pandemic. Further, regression analysis revealed that changes in income, occupation, borrowing during Covid-19 and family type of the respondents were significant factors in mitigating the effects of Covid-19. Based on the findings, policy recommendations are also spelled out in the last section.