Economic and market resilience before and after shocks (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1328)
What is the state of evidence on the economic impacts of ‘market support’ interventions before and after a shock?
Abstract
Query
What is the state of evidence on the economic impacts of ‘market support’ interventions before and after a shock?
Overview
This rapid review looks at the state of evidence on humanitarian and disaster risk reduction (DRR) interventions which aim to reinforce economic resilience in view of anticipated shocks and support economic recovery after a shock, both in situations of natural disasters and conflict. It focuses on donor led, local or regional interventions supporting local markets. It looks particularly at interventions supporting markets critical to affected populations in crises (i.e. basic needs and services, labour markets etc) as opposed to markets with development opportunities.
The limited evidence base makes it difficult to draw conclusions on the economic impacts of market support interventions in anticipation or response to a crisis. This review provides some illustrative case studies to show the type of evidence and findings available. There are positive impacts reported, with some analysis of programme challenges and success factors. The examples highlight the small scale of these initiatives. The evidence includes qualitative case studies of single market support interventions during humanitarian response and recovery, and reviews that look more broadly at whole humanitarian responses to an individual crisis. It has been harder to find evidence on humanitarian and DRR market support in anticipation of shocks. There is a related body of evidence on longer-term development investment in market systems, some of which explicitly aims to strengthen the resilience of markets.
Citation
Carter, B. Economic and market resilience before and after shocks (GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1328). Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK (2016) 12 pp.
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