Inequality and Social Distancing during the Pandemic

Caitlin Brown and Martin Ravallion

No 30540, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We study how pre-pandemic inequalities in America influenced social distancing over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Richer counties tended to see more protective mobility responses in the initial (pre-pharmaceutical) phase, but less protective responses later. Near linearity of this income effect implies that inequality between counties contributed very little to overall mobility reductions. By contrast, higher within-county inequality and/or poverty measures came with substantially larger attenuations to non-residential mobility at given average incomes. There were also significant effects of the county’s racial and age composition. Standard epidemiological covariates of contact rates were also relevant, controlling for the socioeconomic factors.

JEL-codes: I14 I15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022-10
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Published as Caitlin Brown & Martin Ravallion, 2023. "Inequality and Social Distancing during the Pandemic," The Journal of Economic Inequality, vol 21(3), pages 679-702.

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Journal Article: Inequality and Social Distancing during the Pandemic (2023)
Working Paper: Inequality and Social Distancing during the Pandemic (2022)
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