IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/cte/whrepe/31892.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Unequal mortality during the Spanish Flu

Author

Abstract

The outburst of deaths and cases of Covid-19 around the world has renewed the interest to understand the mortality effects of pandemics across regions, occupations, age and gender. The Spanish Flu is the closest pandemic to Covid-19. Mortality rates in Spain were among the largest in today's developed countries. Our research documents a substantial heterogeneity on mortality rates across occupations. The highest mortality was on low-income workers. We also record a rural mortality penalty that reversed the historical urban penalty temporally. The higher capacity of certain social groups to isolate themselves from social contact could explain these mortality differentials. However, adjusting mortality evidence by these two factors, there were still large mortality inter-provincial differences for the same occupation and location, suggesting the existence of a regional component in rates of flu contagion possibly related to climatic differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Roses, Joan R., 2021. "Unequal mortality during the Spanish Flu," IFCS - Working Papers in Economic History.WH 31892, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. Instituto Figuerola.
    • Handle: RePEc:cte:whrepe:31892
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://e-archivo.uc3m.es/rest/api/core/bitstreams/f5fcef4a-626a-4c51-ab13-f40474587918/content
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael R. Haines, 2001. "The Urban Mortality Transition in the United States, 1800-1940," NBER Historical Working Papers 0134, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Cain, Louis & Hong, Sok Chul, 2009. "Survival in 19th century cities: The larger the city, the smaller your chances," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 450-463, October.
    3. Roses, Joan R. & Sanchez-Alonso, Blanca, 2004. "Regional wage convergence in Spain 1850-1930," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 41(4), pages 404-425, October.
    4. James J. Feigenbaum & Christopher Muller & Elizabeth Wrigley-Field, 2019. "Regional and Racial Inequality in Infectious Disease Mortality in U.S. Cities, 1900–1948," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1371-1388, August.
    5. Clay, Karen & Lewis, Joshua & Severnini, Edson, 2018. "Pollution, Infectious Disease, and Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 78(4), pages 1179-1209, December.
    6. Mamelund, Svenn-Erik, 2006. "A socially neutral disease? Individual social class, household wealth and mortality from Spanish influenza in two socially contrasting parishes in Kristiania 1918-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(4), pages 923-940, February.
    7. Rosés, Joan Ramón & Martínez-Galarraga, Julio & Tirado, Daniel A., 2010. "The upswing of regional income inequality in Spain (1860-1930)," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 244-257, April.
    8. Clay, Karen & Lewis, Joshua & Severnini, Edson, 2019. "What explains cross-city variation in mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic? Evidence from 438 U.S. cities," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 42-50.
    9. Basco, Sergi & Domènech, Jordi & Rosés, Joan R., 2021. "The redistributive effects of pandemics: Evidence on the Spanish flu," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    10. Lembke B., 1918. "√ a. p," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 111(1), pages 709-712, February.
    11. Basco, Sergi & Domènech, Jordi & Rosés, Joan R., 2021. "The redistributive effects of pandemics: Evidence on the Spanish flu," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    12. Caitlin S. Brown & Martin Ravallion, 2020. "Inequality and the Coronavirus: Socioeconomic Covariates of Behavioral Responses and Viral Outcomes Across US Counties," NBER Working Papers 27549, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    13. Andrew Noymer & Michel Garenne, 2000. "The 1918 Influenza Epidemic's Effects on Sex Differentials in Mortality in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 565-581, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Richard Franke, 2022. "Poverty, pollution, and mortality: The 1918 influenza pandemic in a developing German economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1026-1053, November.
    2. Amanda Guimbeau & Nidhiya Menon & Aldo Musacchio, 2022. "Short‐ and medium‐run health and literacy impacts of the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic in Brazil," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 997-1025, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Basco, Sergi & Domenech, Jordi & Rosés, Joan R., 2021. "Unequal Mortality during the Spanish Flu," CEPR Discussion Papers 15783, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Basco, Sergi & Domènech, Jordi & Rosés, Joan R., 2024. "Socioeconomic mortality differences during the Great Influenza in Spain," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    3. Colvin, Christopher L. & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2021. "Death, demography and the denominator: Age-adjusted Influenza-18 mortality in Ireland," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    4. Brian Beach & Karen Clay & Martin Saavedra, 2022. "The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Its Lessons for COVID-19," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 41-84, March.
    5. Doran, Áine & Colvin, Christopher L. & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2024. "What can we learn from historical pandemics? A systematic review of the literature," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    6. Richard Franke, 2022. "Poverty, pollution, and mortality: The 1918 influenza pandemic in a developing German economy," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(4), pages 1026-1053, November.
    7. Arthi, Vellore & Parman, John, 2021. "Disease, downturns, and wellbeing: Economic history and the long-run impacts of COVID-19," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    8. Clay, Karen & Lewis, Joshua & Severnini, Edson, 2019. "What explains cross-city variation in mortality during the 1918 influenza pandemic? Evidence from 438 U.S. cities," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 42-50.
    9. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/7m2qa73prn89eogubjm0rc58le is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Colvin, Christopher L. & McLaughlin, Eoin, 2020. "Death, demography and the denominator: New Influenza-18 mortality estimates for Ireland," SRERC Working Paper Series SRERCWP2020-2, University College Cork (UCC), Spatial and Regional Economic Research Centre (SRERC).
    11. Scott A. Carson, 2020. "Biological Differences between Late 19th and Early 20th Century Urban and Rural Residence," CESifo Working Paper Series 8523, CESifo.
    12. Velde, François R., 2022. "What Happened to the U.S. Economy during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic? A View Through High-Frequency Data," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 82(1), pages 284-326, March.
    13. Amanda Guimbeau & Nidhiya Menon & Aldo Musacchio, 2020. "The Brazilian Bombshell? The Long-Term Impact of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic the South American Way," NBER Working Papers 26929, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Lin, Ming-Jen & Liu, Elaine M., 2014. "Does in utero exposure to Illness matter? The 1918 influenza epidemic in Taiwan as a natural experiment," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 152-163.
    15. Rijpma, Auke & van Dijk, Ingrid K. & Schalk, Ruben & Zijdeman, Richard L. & Mourits, Rick J., 2022. "Unequal excess mortality during the Spanish Flu pandemic in the Netherlands," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    16. Schroeder, Max & Lazarakis, Spyridon & Mancy, Rebecca & Angelopoulos, Konstantinos, 2023. "An extended period of elevated influenza mortality risk follows the main waves of influenza pandemics," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    17. repec:hal:journl:hal-03389177 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Gregori Galofre-Vila & Maria Gomez-Leon, 2021. "Provincial health inequalities in Spain since 1860," Documentos de Trabajo - Lan Gaiak Departamento de Economía - Universidad Pública de Navarra 2103, Departamento de Economía - Universidad Pública de Navarra.
    19. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/7m2qa73prn89eogubjm0rc58le is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Karlsson, Martin & Nilsson, Therese & Pichler, Stefan, 2012. "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger? The Impact of the 1918 Spanish Flu Epidemic on Economic Performance in Sweden," Working Paper Series 911, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    21. Karlsson, Martin & Nilsson, Therese & Pichler, Stefan, 2014. "The impact of the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic on economic performance in Sweden," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 1-19.
    22. Karen Clay & Joshua A. Lewis & Edson R. Severnini & Xiao Wang, 2020. "The Value of Health Insurance during a Crisis: Effects of Medicaid Implementation on Pandemic Influenza Mortality," NBER Working Papers 27120, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    23. Lionel Kesztenbaum & Jean-Laurent Rosenthal, 2014. "Income versus Sanitation; Mortality Decline in Paris, 1880-1914," PSE Working Papers halshs-01018594, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pandemics;

    JEL classification:

    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:cte:whrepe:31892. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ana Poveda (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://portal.uc3m.es/portal/page/portal/instituto_figuerola .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.