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COVID-19 and income inequality in OECD countries

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  • John Wildman

    (Newcastle University)

Abstract

Objective To determine the association between income inequality and COVID-19 cases and deaths per million in OECD countries. Methods Cross-sectional regression methods are used to model the relationship between income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient, and COVID-19 reported cases and deaths per-million. Results The results demonstrate a significant positive association between income inequality and COVID-19 cases and death per million in all estimated models. A 1% increase in the Gini coefficient is associated with an approximately 4% increase in cases per-million and an approximately 5% increase in deaths per-million. Conclusions The results demonstrate that countries with high levels of income inequality have performed significantly worse when dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak in terms cases and deaths. Income inequality is a proxy for many elements of socioeconomic disadvantage that may contribute to the spread of, and deaths from, COVID-19. These include poor housing, smoking, obesity and pollution. Policy Implications The findings suggest the importance of closing the gap in income inequality and improving the health and incomes of the poorest and most vulnerable groups.

Suggested Citation

  • John Wildman, 2021. "COVID-19 and income inequality in OECD countries," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(3), pages 455-462, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:eujhec:v:22:y:2021:i:3:d:10.1007_s10198-021-01266-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10198-021-01266-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Joe Piacentini & Harley Frazis & Peter B. Meyer & Michael Schultz & Leo Sveikauskas, 2022. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Labor Markets and Inequality," Economic Working Papers 551, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
    2. J.-Matthias Graf von der Schulenburg, 2021. "COVID-19: not the time for health economists? A plea for more proactive health economic involvement," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(7), pages 1001-1004, September.
    3. Ainaa, Carmen & Brunetti, Irene & Mussida, Chiara & Scicchitano, Sergio, 2021. "Who lost the most? Distributive effects of COVID-19 pandemic," GLO Discussion Paper Series 829, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. John Wildman, 2023. "COVID-19 and income inequality in OECD countries: a methodological comment—a reply," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(7), pages 1239-1241, September.
    5. Schettino, Francesco & Scicchitano, Sergio & Suppa, Domenico, 2024. "COVID 19 and Wage Polarization: A task based approach," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1398, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Li, Na & Dilanchiev, Azer & Mustafa, Ghulam, 2023. "From oil and mineral extraction to renewable energy: Analyzing the efficiency of green technology innovation in the transformation of the oil and gas sector in the extractive industry," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    7. Stark, Oded, 2021. "Why reducing relative deprivation but not reducing income inequality might bring down COVID-19 infections," Journal of Government and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 4(C).
    8. Bai, Xiao & Wang, Kuan-Ting & Tran, Trung Kien & Sadiq, Muhammad & Trung, Lam Minh & Khudoykulov, Khurshid, 2022. "Measuring China’s green economic recovery and energy environment sustainability: Econometric analysis of sustainable development goals," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 768-779.
    9. Ana Suárez à lvarez & Ana Jesús López Menéndez, 2021. "Approaching The Impact Of Covid-19 From An Inequality Of Opportunity Perspective: An Analysis Of European Countries," Working Papers 595, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    10. Wei Wan & Jue Wang & Weimin Jiang, 2023. "Does COVID-19 Exacerbate Regional Income Inequality? Evidence from 20 Provinces of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    11. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hans Philipp Hofmann, 2021. "A Matter of Trust? Political Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 9121, CESifo.
    12. Burlinson, Andrew & Giulietti, Monica & Law, Cherry & Liu, Hui-Hsuan, 2021. "Fuel poverty and financial distress," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    13. Perone, G.;, 2024. "Prioritizing investments in public healthcare to address the COVID-19 outbreak: Evidence from Europe and the South Caucasus," Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers 24/05, HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York.
    14. Eleonora Annunziata & Tommaso Pucci & Jacopo Cammeo & Lorenzo Zanni & Marco Frey, 2023. "The mediating role of exogenous shocks in green purchase intention: evidence from italian fashion industry in the Covid-19 era," Italian Journal of Marketing, Springer, vol. 2023(1), pages 59-79, March.
    15. Gebka, Bartosz & Kanungo, Rama Prasad & Wildman, John, 2024. "The transition from COVID-19 infections to deaths: Do governance quality and corruption affect it?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(2), pages 235-253.
    16. Elena Raffetti & Giuliano Di Baldassarre, 2022. "Do the Benefits of School Closure Outweigh Its Costs?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-8, February.
    17. Ignacio Amate-Fortes & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda, 2023. "Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(1), pages 99-110, February.
    18. Weichen Wang & Andrea Gurgone & Humberto Martínez & Maria Cristina Barbieri Góes & Ettore Gallo & Ádam Kerényi & Enrico Maria Turco & Carla Coburger & Pêdra D. S. Andrade, 2022. "COVID-19 Mortality and Economic Losses: The Role of Policies and Structural Conditions," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-28, August.
    19. Wanglin Ma & Puneet Vatsa & Hongyun Zheng & Emmanuel Donkor & Victor Owusu, 2023. "Does Adoption of Information and Communication Technology Reduce Objective and Subjective Well-Being Inequality? Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 55-77, September.
    20. Stark, Oded, 2023. "On a tendency in health economics to dwell on income inequality and underestimate social stress," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    21. Sakiru Adebola Solarin & Carmen Lafuente & Luis A. Gil-Alana & Maria Jesus Gonzalez Blanch, 2022. "Inequality Persistence of 21 OECD Countries from 1870 to 2020: Linear and Non-Linear Fractional Integration Approaches," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 164(2), pages 711-725, November.
    22. Hanns de la Fuente-Mella & Rolando Rubilar & Karime Chahuán-Jiménez & Víctor Leiva, 2021. "Modeling COVID-19 Cases Statistically and Evaluating Their Effect on the Economy of Countries," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(13), pages 1-13, July.
    23. Sévérin TAMWO & Etayibtalnam KOUDJOM & Aurelien KAMDEM YEYOUOMO, 2024. "Effects of income inequality on COVID-19 in Africa: Accounting for literacy and informal sector," Region et Developpement, Region et Developpement, LEAD, Universite du Sud - Toulon Var, vol. 60, pages 91-111.
    24. Aubert, Cécile & Dang, Hai-Anh H & Nguyen, Manh-Hung, 2022. "The Unequal Impact of the COVID Pandemic: Theory and Evidence on Health and Economic Outcomes for Different Income Groups," IZA Discussion Papers 15396, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    25. Carmen Aina & Irene Brunetti & Chiara Mussida & Sergio Scicchitano, 2023. "Distributional effects of COVID-19," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 221-256, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Income inequality; OECD; Regression;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

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