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Contagious inequality: economic disparities and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic
[Excess all-cause mortality and COVID-19-related mortality: A temporal analysis in 22 countries, from January until August 2020]

Author

Listed:
  • Bishoy Louis Zaki
  • Francesco Nicoli
  • Ellen Wayenberg
  • Bram Verschuere

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the need to consider multiple and often novel perspectives on contemporary policymaking in the context of technically complex, ambiguous, and large-scale crises. In this article, we focus on exploring a territory that remains relatively unchartered on a large scale, namely the relationship between economic inequalities and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic, using a dataset of 25 European countries spanning 300 regions. Our findings reveal two pathways by which economic asymmetries and inequalities can observably influence excess mortality: labor market structures (capturing concentrations of industrial jobs) and income inequalities (capturing concentrations and asymmetries in income distribution). We leverage our findings to offer recommendations for policymakers toward a more deliberate consideration of the multidimensionality of technically complex, large-scale crises with a high degree of societal embeddedness. These findings also urge future scholarship to utilize a range of parameters and indicators for better understanding the relationship between cues and outcomes in such complex settings.

Suggested Citation

  • Bishoy Louis Zaki & Francesco Nicoli & Ellen Wayenberg & Bram Verschuere, 2022. "Contagious inequality: economic disparities and excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic [Excess all-cause mortality and COVID-19-related mortality: A temporal analysis in 22 countries, from J," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 41(2), pages 199-216.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:polsoc:v:41:y:2022:i:2:p:199-216.
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/polsoc/puac011
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    References listed on IDEAS

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