Inequality and COVID-19 in Brazil and the U.S.

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In this seminar, Luiza Nassif-Pires will present results from two recent papers of hers that highlight how structural inequalities by race, class, and gender are responsible for asymmetries in the costs of COVID-19 pandemic borne by individuals in the U.S. and in Brazil, both in terms of health and economic outcomes. She argues that previous existing inequalities are being exacerbated by the pandemic and are impacting the length and cost of the crisis.

The empirical analyses sheds lights on how social and economic vulnerabilities help explain why minority groups are experiencing a disproportional impact. Furthermore, she uses Brazilian data on the cash relief programme Auxílio Emergencial to show how public policy can neutralize the short-term increase in wage disparities and discusses the impacts that an early termination of the programme will have on poverty levels and income distribution in the country. This example motivates a larger discussion of the role of public policy on addressing the current health and economic crisis.

• Discussant: Giorgos Gouzoulis
• Chair: Jose Alejandro Coronado 

Background material for this seminar:

• Multidimensional inequality and COVID-19 in Brazil
• Pandemic of Inequality: crisis at the intersection 

Read more about the IIPP Seminar Series 2020-21