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COVID-19 and Income Inequality: Evidence from Monthly Population Registers

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  • Waldenström, Daniel

    (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN))

  • Angelov, Nikolay

    (The Swedish Tax Agency and Uppsala Center for Fiscal Studies (UCFS))

Abstract

We measure the distributional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic using newly released population register data in Sweden. Monthly earnings inequality increased during the pandemic, and the key driver is income losses among low-paid individuals while middle- and high-income earners were almost unaffected. The pandemic had a larger negative impact on private-sector workers and on women. Using data on individual take-up of government COVID-19 support, we show that policy significantly dampened the inequality increase, but did not fully offset it. Annual total market income inequality, which also includes capital income and taxable transfers, shows similar patterns of increasing inequality during the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Waldenström, Daniel & Angelov, Nikolay, 2021. "COVID-19 and Income Inequality: Evidence from Monthly Population Registers," Working Paper Series 1396, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1396
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    Cited by:

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    2. Esme Işık & Ayfer Özyılmaz & Metin Toprak & Yüksel Bayraktar & Figen Büyükakın & Mehmet Fırat Olgun, 2022. "Will Outbreaks Increase or Reduce Income Inequality? the Case of COVID-19," Istanbul Business Research, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 51(2), pages 583-605, November.
    3. Ignacio Amate-Fortes & Almudena Guarnido-Rueda, 2023. "Inequality, public health, and COVID-19: an analysis of the Spanish case by municipalities," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 24(1), pages 99-110, February.
    4. Asger Lau Andersen & Emil Toft Hansen & Niels Johannesen & Adam Sheridan, 2022. "Consumer responses to the COVID‐19 crisis: evidence from bank account transaction data," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(4), pages 905-929, October.
    5. Carmen Aina & Irene Brunetti & Chiara Mussida & Sergio Scicchitano, 2023. "Distributional effects of COVID-19," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 13(1), pages 221-256, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pandemic; Income inequality; Earnings; Government policy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • H24 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply

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