Arbeitspapier
The unequal impact of the coronavirus pandemic: Evidence from seventeen developing countries
The current coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented public health challenge that has devastating economic impacts for households. Using a sample of 230,540 respondents to online surveys in 17 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, we show that the economic impacts are large and unequal: 45% of respondents report that a household member lost a job, and among households owning small businesses, 59% of respondents report that a household member closed their business. Among households with the lowest income prior to the pandemic, 71% report that a household member lost their job and 61% report that a household member closed their business. Declines in food security and healthiness are among the disproportionate impacts. Our results provide evidence that the current public health crisis will exacerbate economic inequality, and they are among the rst estimates of the labor market and wellbeing impacts of the pandemic in developing countries.
- Language
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Englisch
- Bibliographic citation
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Series: IDB Working Paper Series ; No. IDB-WP-1150
- Classification
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Wirtschaft
Health and Inequality
Household Saving; Personal Finance
Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
- Subject
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Coronaviruspandemic
Public health
Labormarkets
Inequality
- Event
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Geistige Schöpfung
- (who)
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Bottan, Nicolas L.
Hoffmann, Bridget
Vera Cossio, Diego Alejandro
- Event
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Veröffentlichung
- (who)
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Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
- (where)
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Washington, DC
- (when)
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2020
- DOI
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doi:10.18235/0002451
- Handle
- Last update
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10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET
Data provider
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. If you have any questions about the object, please contact the data provider.
Object type
- Arbeitspapier
Associated
- Bottan, Nicolas L.
- Hoffmann, Bridget
- Vera Cossio, Diego Alejandro
- Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)
Time of origin
- 2020