Ethnic minorities, income inequalities and the COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from English local councils

Abstract

This study examines the effects of ethnic minority populations and income inequalities on COVID-19 excess mortality within English local councils. We demonstrate empirically that councils with large ethnic minority populations and high-income inequalities exhibit higher excess mortality during the first wave of the pandemic. We further show that the association between a large ethnic minority population and high excess mortality is manifested significantly more in councils with larger income inequalities. Our findings call for immediate actions and long-term policies to address social and income inequalities as these inequalities affect population health conditions.