Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific
While the distributional impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have been well-documented in high-income countries, studies in low- and middle-income countries have been relatively rare due to data limitations. This paper uses pre-pandemic household welf...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/undefined/699251637612791609/Inequality-under-COVID-19-Taking-Stock-of-High-Frequency-Data-for-East-Asia-and-the-Pacific http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36635 |
| Summary: | While the distributional impacts of
the COVID-19 pandemic have been well-documented in
high-income countries, studies in low- and middle-income
countries have been relatively rare due to data limitations.
This paper uses pre-pandemic household welfare data and
high-frequency household phone survey data from seven
middle-income countries in East Asia and the Pacific,
spanning May 2020 to May 2021, to analyze the distributional
impacts of the pandemic and their implications for equitable
recovery. The results indicate that employment impacts at
the extensive margin have been large and widespread across
the welfare distribution during times of stringent mobility
restrictions (low mobility). When mobility restrictions have
been relaxed, however, employment impacts have been larger
among poorer workers who have found it more difficult to
return to employment. Data on the loss of labor income also
suggests that the pandemic has exacerbated existing
inequalities. In addition to being more susceptible to
employment and income shocks, poorer households in East Asia
and the Pacific are at higher risk of experiencing long-term
scarring from the pandemic – due to rising food insecurity,
increased debt, distress sale of assets, and fewer
distance/interactive learning opportunities for their
children. Taken together, the findings indicate that
inequality has worsened during the pandemic, raising
concerns about the prospects for an inclusive recovery in
the absence of appropriate policy measures. |
|---|