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 |
| id |
okr-10986-36635 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
okr-10986-366352021-12-03T05:10:40Z Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific Kim, Lydia Y. Lugo, Maria Ana Mason, Andrew D. Uochi, Ikuko CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPACT INEQUALITY POVERTY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY 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. 2021-12-02T21:08:12Z 2021-12-02T21:08:12Z 2021-11 Working Paper 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 English Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9859 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper East Asia and Pacific East Asia Oceania |
| repository_type |
Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English |
| topic |
CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPACT INEQUALITY POVERTY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY |
| spellingShingle |
CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC IMPACT INEQUALITY POVERTY HOUSEHOLD SURVEY Kim, Lydia Y. Lugo, Maria Ana Mason, Andrew D. Uochi, Ikuko Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| geographic_facet |
East Asia and Pacific East Asia Oceania |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 9859 |
| description |
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. |
| format |
Working Paper |
| author |
Kim, Lydia Y. Lugo, Maria Ana Mason, Andrew D. Uochi, Ikuko |
| author_facet |
Kim, Lydia Y. Lugo, Maria Ana Mason, Andrew D. Uochi, Ikuko |
| author_sort |
Kim, Lydia Y. |
| title |
Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| title_short |
Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| title_full |
Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| title_fullStr |
Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Inequality under COVID-19 : Taking Stock of High-Frequency Data for East Asia and the Pacific |
| title_sort |
inequality under covid-19 : taking stock of high-frequency data for east asia and the pacific |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
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 |
| _version_ |
1764485654206480384 |