Income-Related Health Inequalities under COVID-19 in Greece

Abstract

This paper focuses on income-related health inequalities amid COVID‑19 in Greece. The prolonged crisis and the pandemic have exacerbated the socioeconomic risks in the country. A major implication is the sharp decline in incomes, which has worsened the health status and the access and use of healthcare, especially among low and middle income individuals. We analyze the theoretical background on health inequalities and describe the dual shock to Greek society, both with the ongoing fiscal consolidation and the COVID-19 pandemic. By utilizing EU-SILC data through alternative techniques, we offer empirical estimates of the extent of health inequalities ranked by incomes. The empirical findings indicate a certain increase in income-based health inequalities over a critical period for Greece’s population.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• fiscal discipline
• Greece
• health inequality
• income quintiles