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The Disparities on Loss of Employment Income by US Households During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Okechukwu D. Anyamele

    (Jackson State University)

  • Saundra M. McFarland

    (Jackson State University)

  • Kenneth Fiakofi

    (Jackson State University)

Abstract

This paper examines the role of the COVID-19 pandemic on the loss of employment income on different ethnic groups in the USA using weekly Household Pulse Survey (HPS) data from the US Census Bureau from August 19 to November 9, 2020. This study is significant for two reasons. First, it documents the loss of employment income on various households in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic period from March 13, 2020, to November 9, 2020. Second, it examines the effect on the different ethnic groups based on demographic and socioeconomic status of these households. We specifically examine the role of income, employment, education, location, access to technology, and health insurance among the different age groups, race/ethnicity, and gender. We employ multivariate logistic regression analysis for the study. The study also employs Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis to investigate the source of disparities in loss of employment income on the different racial/ethnic groups. The multivariate regression examines the effects of income, employment, education, location, health insurance, access to technology, different age groups, race/ethnicity, and gender. This method enables us to estimate the level of differences in loss of employment income outcomes among the various race/ethnic groups based on their socioeconomic status. Our a priori expectation is that loss of employment income and household income, educational status, and employment will be positively correlated. However, we have no a priori expectation of the correlation with location, race/ethnicity, and gender. Our results show that Hispanics, Blacks, Other, and Asians experienced a loss of employment income of 35.6%, 25.3%, 31.2%, and 6.2% higher than Whites, respectively. Equally important is that 45.9%, 40.3%, and 25.2% of the differences are unexplained or attributed to discrimination for Hispanics, Other, and Blacks, respectively.

Suggested Citation

  • Okechukwu D. Anyamele & Saundra M. McFarland & Kenneth Fiakofi, 2022. "The Disparities on Loss of Employment Income by US Households During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Economics, Race, and Policy, Springer, vol. 5(2), pages 115-133, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joerap:v:5:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s41996-021-00086-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s41996-021-00086-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Elena Commodari, 2017. "The Role of Sociodemographic and Psychological Variables on Risk Perception of the Flu," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, July.
    2. Nielsen, Helena Skyt, 1998. "Discrimination and detailed decomposition in a logit model," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 115-120, October.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Loss of employment income; Race/ethnicity; Health status; Health insurance; Access to Technology; Household Pulse Survey;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • G5 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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