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COVID-19 and Inequality in Asia: Breaking the Vicious Cycle

Author

Listed:
  • Ms. Emilia M Jurzyk
  • Medha Madhu Nair
  • Nathalie Pouokam
  • Tahsin Saadi Sedik
  • Mrs. Irina Yakadina

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic risks exacerbating inequality in Asia. High frequency labor surveys show that the pandemic is having particularly adverse effects on younger workers, women and people that are more vulnerable. Pandemics have been shown to increase inequalities. As a result, income inequality, which was already high and rising in Asia before the pandemic, is likely to rise further over the medium term, unless policies succeed in breaking this historical pattern. Many Asian governments have implemented significant fiscal policy measures to mitigate the pandemic’s effect on the most vulnerable, with the impact depending on the initial coverage of safety nets, fiscal space, and degree of informality and digitalization. The paper includes model-based analysis which shows that policies targeted to where needs are greatest are effective in mitigating adverse distributional consequences and underpinning overall economic activity and virus containment.

Suggested Citation

  • Ms. Emilia M Jurzyk & Medha Madhu Nair & Nathalie Pouokam & Tahsin Saadi Sedik & Mrs. Irina Yakadina, 2020. "COVID-19 and Inequality in Asia: Breaking the Vicious Cycle," IMF Working Papers 2020/217, International Monetary Fund.
    • Handle: RePEc:imf:imfwpa:2020/217
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    Cited by:

    1. Buffie, Edward F. & Adam, Christopher & Zanna, Luis-Felipe & Kpodar, Kangni, 2023. "Loss-of-learning and the post-Covid recovery in low-income countries," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. 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.
    3. Dr. Ameenullah Aman & Dr. Usman Ahmad & Sumera Muhammad Saleem, 2021. "Investigating the Link Between Macroeconomic Factors and Income Inequality of Asian Countries," iRASD Journal of Economics, International Research Alliance for Sustainable Development (iRASD), vol. 3(3), pages 376-387, December.

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