Heterogeneity in Damages from A Pandemic

Amy Finkelstein, Geoffrey Kocks, Maria Polyakova and Victoria Udalova

No 30658, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We use linked survey and administrative data to document and decompose the striking differences across demographic groups in both economic and health impacts of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The impacts of the pandemic on all-cause mortality and on employment were concentrated in the same racial, ethnic, and education groups, with non-White individuals and those without a college degree experiencing higher excess all-cause mortality as well as a greater employment loss. Observable differences in living arrangements and the nature of work – which likely affected exposure to the virus and to economic contractions – can explain 15 percent of the Hispanic-White difference in excess mortality, almost one-quarter of the non- Hispanic Black-White difference, and almost half of the difference between those with and without a Bachelor’s degree; they can also explain 35 to 40 percent of the differences in economic damages between these groups. These findings underscore the importance of non-medical factors in contributing to the disparate impacts of public health shocks.

JEL-codes: I0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-11
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea
Note: AG EH LS PE
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