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A Poorly Understood Disease? The Unequal Distribution of Excess Mortality Due to COVID-19 Across French Municipalities

Author

Listed:
  • Brandily, Paul

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Brébion, Clément

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Briole, Simon

    (Paris School of Economics)

  • Khoury, Laura

    (Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration)

Abstract

While COVID-19 was responsible for more than 600,000 deaths worldwide as of July 24, 2020, very little is known about the socio-economic heterogeneity of its impact on mortality. In this paper, we combine several administrative data sources to estimate the relationship between mortality due to COVID-19 and poverty at a very local level (i.e. the municipality level) in France, one of the most severely hit countries in the world. We find strong evidence of an income gradient in the impact of the pandemic on mortality rates, which is twice as large in municipalities below the 25th percentile of the national income distribution than in municipalities above this threshold. We then show that both poor housing conditions and higher occupational exposure play a key role in this heterogeneity: taken together, these mechanisms account for up to 77% of the difference observed between rich and poor municipalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Brandily, Paul & Brébion, Clément & Briole, Simon & Khoury, Laura, 2020. "A Poorly Understood Disease? The Unequal Distribution of Excess Mortality Due to COVID-19 Across French Municipalities," Discussion Paper Series in Economics 15/2020, Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:nhheco:2020_015
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    Cited by:

    1. André Decoster & Thomas Minten & Johannes Spinnewijn, 2021. "The Income Gradient in Mortality during the Covid-19 Crisis: Evidence from Belgium," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 19(3), pages 551-570, September.
    2. Rachid Laajaj & Duncan Webb & Danilo Aristizabal & Eduardo Behrentz & Raquel Bernal & Giancarlo Buitrago & Zulma Cucunubá & Fernando de la Hoz, 2021. "Understanding how socioeconomic inequalities drive inequalities in SARS-CoV-2 infections," Documentos CEDE 19241, Universidad de los Andes, Facultad de Economía, CEDE.
    3. Bello, Piera & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2022. "Education and COVID-19 excess mortality," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    4. Duffy, Katie & Connolly, Sheelah & Maitre, Bertrand & Anne Nolan, 2022. "Unequal chances? Inequalities in mortality in Ireland," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS145, June.
    5. Stefanie Stantcheva, 2022. "Inequalities in the times of a pandemic," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 37(109), pages 5-41.
    6. Bárcena-Martín, Elena & Molina, Julián & Muñoz-Fernández, Ana & Pérez-Moreno, Salvador, 2022. "Vulnerability and COVID-19 infection rates: A changing relationship during the first year of the pandemic," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    7. Bello, Piera & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2021. "Education, Information, and COVID-19 Excess Mortality," IZA Discussion Papers 14402, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Mireille Razafindrakoto & François Roubaud & João Saboia & Marta Reis Castilho & Valeria Pero, 2022. "Municípios in the Time of Covid-19 in Brazil: Socioeconomic Vulnerabilities, Transmission Factors and Public Policies," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(6), pages 2730-2758, December.
    9. Armillei, Francesco & Filippucci, Francesco & Fletcher, Thomas, 2021. "Did Covid-19 hit harder in peripheral areas? The case of Italian municipalities," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; poverty; inequality; mortality; labor market; housing conditions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General

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