Social and solidarity economy and access to food: Insights from Cameroon

The social and solidarity economy has an increasingly important role in the issue of access to food. This article examines food solidarity in various low-income communities in Cameroon. In the foreground is a nuanced perspective on food distribution practices in the country; such practices allow the low-income population to have access to food. The methodology is qualitative; Interviews were conducted with the participants in English, French, and Pidgin. To facilitate the disclosure of information, it was clarified that the data provided will be anonymous (pseudonyms are used). In addition, for confidentiality reasons, no information that could reveal the identity of the participants is disclosed.

Impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns and stimulus payments on low-income population’s spending in the United States

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the economy and human lives worldwide, particularly the vulnerable low-income population. We employ a large panel data of 5.6 million daily transactions from 2.6 million debit cards owned by the low-income population in the U.S. to quantify the joint impacts of the state lockdowns and stimulus payments on this population’s spending along the inter-temporal, geo-spatial, and cross-categorical dimensions. Leveraging the difference-in-differences analyses at the per card and zip code levels, we uncover three key findings. (1) Inter-temporally, the state lockdowns diminished the daily average spending relative to the same period in 2019 by $3.9 per card and $2,214 per zip code, whereas the stimulus payments elevated the daily average spending by $15.7 per card and $3,307 per zip code. (2) Spatial heterogeneity prevailed: Democratic zip codes displayed much more volatile dynamics, with an initial decline three times that of Republican zip codes, followed by a higher rebound and a net gain after the stimulus payments; also, Southwest exhibited the highest initial decline whereas Southeast had the largest net gain after the stimulus payments. (3) Across 26 categories, the stimulus payments promoted spending in those categories that enhanced public health and charitable donations, reduced food insecurity and digital divide, while having also stimulated non-essential and even undesirable categories, such as liquor and cigar. In addition, spatial association analysis was employed to identify spatial dependency and local hot spots of spending changes at the county level. Overall, these analyses reveal the imperative need for more geo- and category-targeted stimulus programs, as well as more effective and strategic policy communications, to protect and promote the well-being of the low-income population during public health and economic crises.