The developing world has experienced unprecedented effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The devastating effects of this major crisis are felt in all possible spheres of the developing world and with a serious impact on social and economic development in developing countries. The spread of Covid-19, which has brought the world to a near standstill, has given rise to the question on the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic. The special issue on Covid-19 at JID aims to bring together contemporary research on several aspects of how the devastating effects of the pandemic have panned out in different spheres of life, particularly, in the developing world. This special issue has 10 papers with a particular emphasis on evidence of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America. The volume documents studies on the effects of the pandemic at the macro-level, for economy wide effects, the impact of the pandemic on firms and on its effects on households.