O pandemic income inequality has worsened, with the world’s richest people recovering their losses in nine months, while the number of people living in poverty has doubled to over 500 million, according to a new report by the anti-poverty group Oxfam.
The world’s poorest may take a decade to regain their financial balance with the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to the study, which says the new coronavirus has accelerated a continuing trend of increasing income inequality. The Oxfam report will be released to coincide with the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda, scheduled to take place online this year, instead of its traditional gathering of global movers and agitators in the Swiss city of Davos.
America’s richest people saw their wealth increase during the pandemic by more than $ 1 trillion, thanks to an expanding stock market and a K-shaped recovery that benefited the rich, while the poorest struggled with wages and jobs lost and future opportunities. It is a phenomenon of rich versus poor that is replicating around the world. Oxfam describes the impact of the pandemic as “the biggest increase in inequality since the beginning of records.”
Oxfam asked the Biden government and other governments around the world to address the inequalities caused by the pandemic. In the United States, he said, a “multi-trillion dollar economic recovery plan” is needed to help the tens of millions of Americans suffering from the economic impact of the pandemic. President Joe Biden has proposed a $ 1.9 trillion aid package, although it has not yet been accepted by Congress.
“Now is not the time to push the limits. We need big, bold action for a more dignified future, where everyone can prosper, not just survive,” said Paul O’Brien, vice president of Oxfam America, in a statement.
Economists from 79 countries surveyed by Oxfam said they projected that their countries would experience an “increase” to a “huge increase” in income inequality due to the pandemic. Economists interviewed include Jeffrey Sachs, from Columbia University, Jayati Ghosh, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Gabriel Zucman, from the University of California, Berkeley.
Higher unemployment for women and people of color
The pandemic especially exposed the inequalities faced by women and people of color, who experienced higher unemployment rates during the pandemic. They are also more likely to work in industries with greater exposure to COVID-19 risks, such as healthcare-based jobs and restaurants. Women represent 7 out of 10 workers in the global health and social care workforce, noted Oxfam.
“Women and marginalized racial and ethnic groups are bearing the brunt of this crisis. They are more likely to be pushed into poverty, more likely to go hungry and more likely to be excluded from health care, ”Gabriela Bucher, executive director of Oxfam International, said in the statement.