Effects of COVID-19 on Catastrophic Health Expenditures and Inequality in Benin: A Microsimulation Approach

Albert N. Honlonkou (), Nassibou Bassongui and Corinne B. Daraté
Additional contact information
Albert N. Honlonkou: National School of Applied Economics and Management (ENEAM), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou BP 358, Benin
Nassibou Bassongui: National School of Applied Economics and Management (ENEAM), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou BP 358, Benin
Corinne B. Daraté: National School of Applied Economics and Management (ENEAM), University of Abomey-Calavi, Cotonou BP 358, Benin

Economies, 2025, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-27

Abstract: This study assesses the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on catastrophic health expenditures and income inequality in Benin. A microsimulation was calibrated to estimate the impact of the pandemic under three different shock scenarios: low, moderate, and severe. The analysis relies on secondary data from household living condition surveys. The results indicate that the COVID-19 crisis would lead to a significant average income loss of up to 20% and income inequality, while the number of households with catastrophic health expenditures would increase by 4%. More importantly, the findings reveal heterogeneous impacts across households, with urban residents, younger individuals, more educated households, and male-headed households experiencing the greatest income decline. These findings underscore the need for targeted health coverage and employment policies to better protect vulnerable populations in Benin in the face of future shocks.

Keywords: health expenditures; inequalities; microsimulation; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E F I J O Q (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/8/222/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/13/8/222/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jecomi:v:13:y:2025:i:8:p:222-:d:1712732

Access Statistics for this article

Economies is currently edited by Ms. Hongyan Zhang

More articles in Economies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().