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The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on regional inequalities in Romania. Spotlight on unemployment and health conditions

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  • Adriana Reveiu
  • Daniela Luminita Constantin

Abstract

For a long time, inequalities have existed across the population and between different communities and groups. Although regional inequality is a topic of interest among scholars and policy makers, only recently have they been increasingly investigated at local territorial units. The economic shock related to the COVID‐19 crisis, which resulted from the lockdown and significant decline in economic activity in many sectors, has affected all regions, but not in the same way or with a similar intensity. Assessing some regional indicators available in the first period of the ongoing COVID‐19 crisis depicting the quality of life, it is becoming evident that new regional disparities emerge and interact with many of the pre‐existing inequalities. This paper aims to provide new insights on the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on inequalities across two dimensions, namely employment and health conditions, with relevance for the standard of living. By investigating past and current evolutions of some indicators, as reflected at the NUTS3 territorial level in Romania and the use of spatial analysis, our study shows that new fissures generated by the health crisis have deepened the existing inequalities at the regional level along various key dimensions such as gender, age, education, and rural–urban and local geography. This empirical study, considering traditional measurements of inequality and relevant spatial investigation, evaluates the intensity of inequalities across all Romanian counties. Durante mucho tiempo han existido desigualdades entre la población y entre las distintas comunidades y grupos. Aunque las desigualdades regionales son un tema de interés entre académicos y políticos, sólo recientemente se han investigado cada vez más en las unidades territoriales locales. Las perturbaciones económicas relacionadas con la crisis de COVID‐19, que se tradujeron en confinamientos y en un descenso significativo de la actividad económica en muchos sectores, afectaron a todas las regiones, pero no de la misma manera ni con una intensidad similar. Al evaluar algunos indicadores regionales disponibles en el primer periodo de la crisis de COVID‐19 en curso que describen la calidad de vida, es evidente la aparición de nuevas disparidades regionales que interactúan con muchas de las desigualdades ya existentes. El objetivo de este artículo es aportar nuevas perspectivas sobre el impacto de la pandemia de COVID‐19 en las desigualdades en dos dimensiones: el empleo y las condiciones sanitarias, que son relevantes para el nivel de vida. Mediante la investigación de las evoluciones pasadas y presentes de algunos indicadores, tal y como se refleja a nivel territorial de NUTS3 en Rumanía y el uso del análisis espacial, este estudio muestra que las nuevas fisuras generadas por la crisis sanitaria han profundizado las desigualdades existentes a nivel regional en varias dimensiones clave como el género, la edad, la educación y la geografía rural‐urbana y local. Este estudio empírico, que tiene en cuenta las formas tradicionales de medir la desigualdad y la investigación espacial pertinente, evalúa la intensidad de las desigualdades en todos los condados rumanos. 不平等は、長い間、国民及び異なるコミュニティやグループ間に存在してきた。地域の不平等は学者や政策立案者にとって重要なトピックであるが、最近になってようやく地方の地域単位で調査されることが多くなってきた。ロックダウンと多くのセクターにおける経済活動の大幅な低下から生じたコロナ危機に関連する経済ショックは、すべての地域に影響を与えているが、その影響や程度はすべて同様ではない。進行中のコロナ危機の第1期において評価可能であったいくつかの生活の質を表す地域指標から、新たな地域格差が出現し、それが既存の不平等の多くと相互作用していることが明らかになりつつある。本稿では、新型コロナウイルス感染症のパンデミックの、2つの側面、すなわち雇用と健康状態における不平等に対する影響について、生活水準との関連において、新たな知見を得ることが目的である。ルーマニアのNUTS3の地域レベルと空間分析の使用に反映されているように、過去と現在におけるいくつかの指標の進展を検討することによって、本研究から、健康危機によって生じた新しい亀裂が、性別、年齢、教育、農村対都市および地方の地理などの様々な重要な側面において、地域レベルでの既存の不平等を拡大させていることが示される。この実証的研究では、伝統的な不平等の評価項目及び関連する空間調査を考慮して、ルーマニアの全郡に広がる不平等の深刻度を評価する。

Suggested Citation

  • Adriana Reveiu & Daniela Luminita Constantin, 2023. "The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on regional inequalities in Romania. Spotlight on unemployment and health conditions," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(3), pages 644-658, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:bla:rgscpp:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:644-658
    DOI: 10.1111/rsp3.12637
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    References listed on IDEAS

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