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The Economic Power of Capital and the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States: An Empirical Study

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  • Junfu Zhao

Abstract

This study proposes a Marxian explanation to account for the spread of COVID-19 in the United States in 2020. Capital opposed and resisted public non-pharmaceutical interventions because they interfered with short-term profitability. The economy was prematurely reopened under the structural economic power of capital at the expense of society. This empirical analysis exploits the variation in the local economic power of capital across counties, measured by the county-level employment share of employees of private for-profit companies. If the structural economic power of capital in a county was more substantial, then the cumulative COVID-19 death rate and the unemployment rate were larger, and social distancing behaviors were discouraged in that county. Workplace safety was not guaranteed during the pandemic, potentially contributing to the spread of COVID-19. JEL Classification : B51, I18, P17

Suggested Citation

  • Junfu Zhao, 2025. "The Economic Power of Capital and the Spread of COVID-19 in the United States: An Empirical Study," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 57(1), pages 30-57, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:reorpe:v:57:y:2025:i:1:p:30-57
    DOI: 10.1177/04866134241300804
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; economic power; profitability; capitalism;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • P17 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Performance and Prospects

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