TY - JOUR
T1 - A Poorly Understood Disease?
T2 - The Impact of COVID-19 on the Income Gradient in Mortality over the Course of the Pandemic
AU - Brandily, Paul
AU - Brebion, Clement
AU - Briole, Simon
AU - Khoury, Laura
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - Mortality inequalities remain substantial in many countries, and large shocks such as pandemics could amplify them further. The unequal distribution of COVID-19 confirmed cases suggests that this is the case. Yet, evidence on the causal effect of the epidemic on mortality inequalities remains scarce. In this paper, we exploit exhaustive municipality-level data in France, one of the most severely hit country in the world, to identify a negative relationship between income and excess mortality within urban areas, that persists over COVID-19 waves. Over the year 2020, the poorest municipalities experienced a 30% higher increase in excess mortality. Our analyses can rule out an independent contribution of lockdown policies to this heterogeneous impact. Finally, we find evidence that both labor-market exposure and housing conditions are major determinants of the epidemic-induced effects of COVID-19 on mortality inequalities, but that their respective role depends on the state of the epidemic.
AB - Mortality inequalities remain substantial in many countries, and large shocks such as pandemics could amplify them further. The unequal distribution of COVID-19 confirmed cases suggests that this is the case. Yet, evidence on the causal effect of the epidemic on mortality inequalities remains scarce. In this paper, we exploit exhaustive municipality-level data in France, one of the most severely hit country in the world, to identify a negative relationship between income and excess mortality within urban areas, that persists over COVID-19 waves. Over the year 2020, the poorest municipalities experienced a 30% higher increase in excess mortality. Our analyses can rule out an independent contribution of lockdown policies to this heterogeneous impact. Finally, we find evidence that both labor-market exposure and housing conditions are major determinants of the epidemic-induced effects of COVID-19 on mortality inequalities, but that their respective role depends on the state of the epidemic.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Poverty
KW - Mortality inequality
KW - Labor market
KW - Housing conditions
KW - COVID-19
KW - Poverty
KW - Mortality inequality
KW - Labor market
KW - Housing conditions
U2 - 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103923
DO - 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2021.103923
M3 - Journal article
SN - 0014-2921
VL - 140
JO - European Economic Review
JF - European Economic Review
M1 - 103923
ER -