How do you conduct research under a global pandemic? 

This episode features two interviews illuminating the research process in an era of lockdowns and social distancing. IFPRI’s Senior Research Fellow Xiaobo Zhang, in a conversation with Sivan Yosef, talks about using a fleet of student volunteers to conduct a survey of 2,400 small and medium businesses in China, to find out how they have fared economically. Rob Vos, Director of IFPRI’s Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, discusses his modeling work with colleagues that projects the impacts of COVID-19 on global and regional food security. Both interviews show that high-quality research is still possible and is more important than ever.
 

Blog Posts Based on these Research Approaches

• Poverty and food insecurity could grow dramatically as COVID-19 spreads
• COVID-19: Trade restrictions are worst possible response to safeguard food security
• Chinese livestock farms struggle under COVID-19 restrictions
• How much will global poverty increase because of COVID-19?
• COVID-19’s impact on China’s small and medium-sized businesses
• As COVID-19 spreads, no major concern for global food security yet