The Socioeconomics of COVID and Lockdowns Outside Advanced Economies: The Case of Bogota

Abstract

Bogota is unique in recording and reporting the socioeconomic status of COVID-19 patients. As others in Latin America and Asia, the city imposed a blanket lockdown before contagion picked up in early 2020 and kept it in place for six months. We document that, during that period, being hospitalized or dying from COVID-19 was over eight times more likely for an individual in the lowest group of the socioeconomic classification, compared to one in the highest. We relate this to higher exposure to contagion, by presenting evidence that people at the bottom of this classification are: 1) Less likely to be in occupations fit for telework; 2) Disproportionately hit by the economic crisis; 3) Subject to more crowded environments; 4) Less likely to recognize a high risk of contagion. The pandemic has widened socioeconomic gaps, in one of the world’s most unequal societies.