Income Inequality and Health during the Covid-19 pandemic - Bulgaria compared to some European Countries
Income Inequality and Health during the Covid-19 pandemic - Bulgaria compared to some European Countries

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyzes the relationship between income inequality and health with a focus on the years of the Kovid-19 pandemic. Income inequality is measured by the Gini coefficient of income, and health is measured by Excess deaths in 2020 per 100,000 population, relative to the 2017-2019 average. Data of both variables are from the World Happiness Report 2021. The number of European countries covered are 36 including the United States and Israel. The calculated correlation coefficient (0.37) shows a significant positive correlation between the Gini index and excess deaths in 2020. The conclusion is made that too high income inequality is at least part of the explanation why Bulgaria is hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than all other countries in the world.

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