Working Paper: NBER ID: w27019
Authors: Stephanie Schmittgroh; Ken Teoh; Martn Uribe
Abstract: Motivated by reports in the media suggesting unequal access to Covid-19 testing across incomes, we analyze zip-code level data on the number of Covid-19 tests, test results, and income per capita in New York City. We find that the number of tests administered is evenly distributed across income levels. In particular, the test distribution across income levels is significantly more egalitarian than the distribution of income itself: The ten percent of the city's population living in the richest zip codes received 11 percent of the Covid-19 tests and 29 percent of the city's income. The ten percent of the city's population living in the poorest zip codes received 10 percent of the tests but only 4 percent of the city's income. At the same time, we find significant disparity in the fraction of tests that come back negative for the Covid-19 disease across income levels: moving from the poorest zip codes to the richest zip codes is associated with an increase in the fraction of negative Covid-19 test results from 38 to 65 percent.
Keywords: COVID-19; testing; inequality; New York City; income levels
JEL Codes: I14; R1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Distribution of COVID-19 tests (C46) | Income levels (D31) |
| Income levels (D31) | Fraction of negative test results (C46) |
| Fraction of negative test results (C46) | Testing outcomes (C52) |
| Higher share of Black residents (R23) | Negative test results (C52) |
| Healthcare provider selection criteria (I11) | Access to COVID-19 testing (I14) |
| Demand-side factors (J23) | Access to COVID-19 testing (I14) |