Pollution, Global Diseases, Government, and Inequality
Osvaldo Allen
Austin Peay State University, College of Business, Department of Economics, Fort Campbell, KY, USA.
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1678-1481
Ava Brown
Austin Peay State University, College of Business, Department of Economics, Fort Campbell, KY, USA.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5862-0566
Ersong Wang
Austin Peay State University, Medical Laboratory Science, Fort Campbell, KY, USA.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7385-6908
DOI: https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.505.2021.71.1.8
Keywords: Pollution, Global Diseases, Government, and Inequality
Abstract
Minorities and poor people have higher rates of mortality due to various causes of deaths. Part of this phenomenon is due their higher exposure to unhealthy environments. In this paper we show that the onset of Covid-19 was associated with higher death rates among the disadvantaged population. Specifically, we document that the environmental air quality can affect the spread of the novel coronavirus and that this effect is more pronounced in low-income neighborhoods and for counties with lower average education and higher share of blacks. The fact that environment is more impactful among the disadvantaged population calls for policies that protect the poor and minorities during a global disease.