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  5. Panel: AEA-NEA-ASHE Joint Session on Exploring Race and Ethnicity during the COVID 19 Pandemic
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Panel: AEA-NEA-ASHE Joint Session on Exploring Race and Ethnicity during the COVID 19 Pandemic

Paper Session

Monday, Jan. 4, 2021 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM (EST)

Hosted By: American Economic Association, National Economic Association & American Society of Hispanic Economists
  • Chair: Trevon D. Logan, Ohio State University

Staying Close When Apart: The Value of “Information-Communication” during the COVID19 Pandemic

Francis Annan
,
Georgia State University
Belinda Archibong
,
Columbia University-Barnard College

Abstract

We show that communication interventions – which have become globally pervasive during
the COVID-19 pandemic – promote individuals’ consumption and psychological well-being.
Partnering with a major telecommunication company, we field communication programs
that provide either a “lump-sum mobile phone calling credit” or “monthly tranches of mobile
phone calling credit” to a nationally representative set of low-income households in Ghana
during the crises. Individuals’ inability to make unexpected calls, unexpected need to borrow
airtime, and to seek digital loans decreased dramatically relative to a control group. As a
result, the programs led to a significant decrease in the likelihood of severe mental distress
by 2.7 percentage points (quarter the mean prevalence), with modest impacts on overall
consumption expenditure. Monthly mobile credits are more likely than lump-sum mobile
credits to “sustain” larger impacts, suggesting that individuals may face time inconsistency
and/or social pressure problems. We emphasize the value of communication and need for
many installments of communication transfers during pandemics.

Racial and Ethnic Disparities: Essential Workers, Mental Health, and the Coronavirus Pandemic

Jevay Grooms
,
Howard University
Alberto Ortega
,
Indiana University
Joaquin Alfredo-Angel Rubalcaba
,
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
Edwards Vargas
,
Arizona State University

Abstract

It’s clear that the pandemic is disproportionately impacting communities of color. In this study, we investigate mental health distress among essential workers during the Coronavirus pandemic across race and ethnicity. We evaluate individual responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire and General Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire using unique, nationally representative, data set. Our findings suggest that Black essential healthcare workers disproportionately report symptoms of anxiety; while, Latino essential health-care workers disproportionately report symptoms of depression. Additionally, we find that being a Black or Latino essential non-health care worker is associated with higher levels of distress related to anxiety and depression. These findings highlight the additional dimensions to which Black and Hispanic Americans are disproportionately being affected by the Coronavirus pandemic. Furthermore, it calls into question how essential worker classifications, compounded by US unemployment policies, is potentially amplifying the mental health trauma experienced by workers.

COVID-19 and Caregiving by Black and Hispanic Grandparents

Enrique A. Lopezlira
,
Grand Canyon University

Abstract

Black and Hispanic grandparents provide a large amount of caregiving for grandchildren, both formal and informal. COVID-19 places the highest risk on older adults, which creates significant challenges for grandparents providing care for grandchildren. This paper will look at the disparate economic impact of COVID-19 on Black and Hispanic grandparents who are primary caretakers for their grandchildren.

Increasing Racial Equity in Access to Health Care, Lessons from COVID-19

Jeannette Wicks-Lim
,
University of Massachusetts-Amherst

Abstract

The implosion of the U.S. economy brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has created an opportunity to think urgently, and possibly, more expansively, about how and where Americans get their health care. At the same time, the negative consequences of the pandemic has put a spotlight on the racial inequity of the U.S.’s current health care system. One debate that has emerged, with regard to the appropriate policy response to the pandemic, is whether to shore up health care coverage to the unemployed by supporting: (1) the existing structure of how most Americans access health insurance, i.e., through COBRA which extends the benefits of employer provided health insurance or (2) the existing single payer structure through which most elderly Americans access health insurance, i.e., through expanding the coverage of Medicare. This paper will use this policy debate to describe the racial distribution of the costs and benefits of each of these two policy frameworks, and to point the way to increasing racial equity in health care access.

The Great Un-Equalizer: Does COVID-19 Exacerbate Economic and Health Disadvantage? The Case of American Indian populations.

Randall Akee
,
University of California-Los Angeles
Luis Quintero
,
Johns Hopkins University
Emilia Simeonova
,
Johns Hopkins University

Abstract

American Indians and Alaska Natives (AIAN) are some of the most susceptible populations to the standard flu and other infectious diseases in the U.S. The COVID-19 pandemic puts these populations at great risk for this novel virus. At the same time, AIAN are one of the most economically disadvantaged groups in the U.S. In ordinary times, the rural nature of many reservation locations increases the need for long-distance traveling for basic goods and services such as grocery stores, basic supplies and health care. Shelter-in-place orders and supply chain disruptions are likely to result in higher relative costs of everyday living for those residing on reservations compared with the rest of the population. Furthermore, tribal governments were first-movers with regard to the closing of their casino operations and reservation enterprises with shelter-in-place orders that were in advance of or contemporaneous with state and local orders. Therefore, the affected AIAN populations experienced labor market contraction effects earlier than their counterparts living and working on non-tribal lands. Using Safe-Graph data we document the travel times for reservation residents to off-reservation locations and establishments, such as grocery stores, health clinics, and basic amenities, preceding and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We compare and contrast these metrics for the residents on tribal lands relative to rural populations located nearby but living off reservation lands. We show the relationship between the COVID-19 infection rate and deaths for these two populations, as well as the correlations between these health outcomes and the duration and total number of trips to essential businesses located off-reservation.

COVID-19, Discrimination, and Asian Americans’ Business Formation and Survival

Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes
,
University of California-Merced
Chunbei Wang
,
University of Oklahoma
Cristina Borra
,
University of Seville

Abstract

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Asian Americans have become the victims of a sudden onset of racial discrimination. News media has reported numerous incidents of anti-Asian harassments and attacks across the country. Stop AAPI Hate website, which was launched in March of 2020 to track self-reported incidents, has received 1,500 reports of coronavirus discrimination from Asian Americans in one month, including verbal abuse, physical attacks, and job discrimination.1 New York state has seen a disproportionate hike in unemployment insurance claims among Asians compared to other racial groups.2 Amidst such a turbulent time, Asian-American owned businesses have reported losing substantial number of customers, even prior to the adoption of safe-at-home policies.3 The increase in discrimination may have stemmed from a variety of sources, including employers, employees, customers, or even banks, and could have profound impacts on the formation and survival of Asian-owned businesses. On one hand, employer and employee discrimination could reduce job opportunities for Asians, thereby pushing them into self-employment as an alternative livelihood. On the other hand, customer and bank discrimination could negatively impact businesses, leading to business failures.
Discussant(s)
Alberto Ortega
,
Indiana University
Monica I. Garcia-Perez
,
St. Cloud State University
Jose Fernandez
,
University of Louisville
JEL Classifications
  • I0 - General
  • J1 - Demographic Economics