Who loses income during the COVID-19 outbreak? Evidence from China
Autor
Qian, Yue
Fan, Wen
Institución
Resumen
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed every facet of society. In addition to directly affecting population
health, the economic impact of this social shock has begun to be palpable at the individual level. Situated in this
context, this research note draws on data collected from Mainland China in March–April, 2020 to examine the
individual-level economic toll of the COVID-19 outbreak. We investigate how individuals’ income (when surveyed) has changed relative to before the outbreak, and pay particular attention to the potentially unequal
distribution of economic vulnerability based on structural (dis)advantages and COVID-19 related conditions. We
show that education, family economic status, Communist Party membership, state-sector employment, and
urban hukou—all long-standing status markers in China—mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 outbreak
on individuals’ income losses. In addition, people who live in families or regions that were hit harder by COVID19 are more likely to experience income losses. Taken together, this study shows that the COVID-19 pandemic
not only exacerbates pre-existing social inequalities but also creates new forms of disparities. Therefore, instead
of acting as a great equalizer, the pandemic may well magnify the social distribution of economic vulnerability.
To alleviate inequality and aid post-pandemic recovery, public policies need to be oriented toward vulnerable
and marginalized populations.