Across the world, the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has disproportionately affected economically disadvantaged groups. This differential impact has numerous possible explanations, each with significantly different policy implications. We examine, for the first time in a low- or middle-income country, which mechanisms best explain the disproportionate impact of the virus on the poor. Combining an epidemiological model with rich data from Bogotá, Colombia, we show that total infections and inequalities in infections are largely driven by inequalities in the inability to work remotely and in within-home secondary attack rates. Inequalities in isolation behavior are less important but non-negligible, while access to testing and contract-tracing plays practically no role. Interventions that mitigate transmission are often more effective when targeted on socioeconomically disadvantaged groups.
Laajaj, Rachid and Webb, Duncan and Aristizabal, Danilo and Behrentz, Eduardo and Bernal, Raquel and Buitrago, Giancarlo and Cucunubá, Zulma M. and de la Hoz, Fernando and Gaviria Uribe, Alejandro and Hernández Florez, Luis Jorge and De Los Rios Rueda, Camilo and Ramirez Varela, Andrea and Restrepo, Silvia and Schady, Norbert and Vives Florez, Martha, Understanding How Socioeconomic Inequalities Drive Inequalities in SARS-CoV-2 Infections (May 3, 2021). Documento CEDE No. 24, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3841746 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3841746
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