Income Inequality and COVID-19

Abstract

Abstract Inequality in the societal distribution of income has been put forward as a threat to population health. In the case of COVID, income inequality has hampered the ability of societies to mount an effective, coordinated response to the crisis. In highly unequal societies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, India, and South Africa, the affluent have not shared the daily realities of COVID-19 experienced by the have-nots, resulting in the prioritization of the interests of business over labor. Global inequality in the distribution of income and wealth has also emerged as a critical issue in the distribution of vaccines, with wealthy countries out-competing less affluent countries for vaccine supply. This kind of zero-sum thinking (“more for you means less for me”) has dire implications for the ability of humanity to stop the global pandemic. This chapter discusses the theoretical connections between income inequality and COVID outcomes, and provides a summary of empirical evidence to date.