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Will COVID-19 Have Long-Lasting Effects on Inequality? Evidence from Past Pandemics
Author: Davide Furceri, Mr. Prakash Loungani, Mr. Jonathan David Ostry, and Pietro Pizzuto
Series:
IMF Working Papers
Volume/Issue:
Volume 2021: Issue 127
Language:
English
Publication Date:
01 May 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513582375.001
ISBN:
9781513582375
ISSN:
1018-5941
Pages:
46
Keywords:
impact of pandemic; pandemic dummy regression; income share; pandemic event; severity of the pandemic; COVID-19; Income inequality; Income distribution; Income; Global
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IMF Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to encourage debate. The views expressed in IMF Working Papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF, its Executive Board, or IMF management.
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This paper provides evidence on the impact of major epidemics from the past two decades on income distribution. The pandemics in our sample, even though much smaller in scale than COVID-19, have led to increases in the Gini coefficient, raised the income share of higher-income deciles, and lowered the employment-to-population ratio for those with basic education compared to those with higher education. We provide some evidence that the distributional consequences from the current pandemic may be larger than those flowing from the historical pandemics in our sample, and larger than those following typical recessions and financial crises.
Cover IMF Working Papers
IMF Working Papers
ISSN:
1018-5941
Publisher:
International Monetary Fund