Poverty and Inequality During the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from Administrative Data in Switzerland

Hümbelin, Oliver; Strazzeri, Maurizio; Lehmann, Olivier Tim; Schlittler, Lukas Christian; Sutter, Rulla; Crettaz, Eric; Farys, Rudolf (30 August 2024). Poverty and Inequality During the COVID-19 Crisis: Evidence from Administrative Data in Switzerland In: 22nd ESPAnet conference. Tampere. 28th – 30th August 2024.

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This paper investigates the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on income inequality and poverty prevalence. Using comprehensive tax data linked to household registry data, we assess the financial situation of households across different pre-pandemic income levels. Our findings reveal that, during the pandemic, annual net household income increased on average for those in the lower part of the income distribution, while it declined for households in the upper income brackets. Additionally, we observe that household savings, as indicated by changes in liquid asset holdings, rose across all income levels, suggesting a reduction in consumer spending due to COVID-19 containment measures. However, within each income decile, a significant portion of households experienced declines in both net income and savings, highlighting the potential harmfulness of a pandemic-induced economic crisis. All in all, we demonstrate the importance state interventions to stabilize income during the pandemic to reduce poverty prevalence in Switzerland.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)
Division/Institute:	School of Social Work > Institute for Social Security and Social Policy School of Social Work
Name:	Hümbelin, Oliver0000-0002-8983-9958; Strazzeri, Maurizio; Lehmann, Olivier Tim; Schlittler, Lukas Christian; Sutter, Rulla; Crettaz, Eric and Farys, Rudolf
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Funders:	[7] Swiss National Science Foundation
Language:	English
Submitter:	Oliver Hümbelin
Date Deposited:	11 Sep 2024 11:12
Last Modified:	11 Sep 2024 11:12
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.22460
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/22460