Poverty, Pollution, and Mortality: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic in a Developing German Economy
I analyze the health impact of the 1918 “Spanish Flu” in South-West Germany and the harmful effects of poverty and air pollution on mortality.
The 1918 flu pandemic left Spain a more unequal country
Pandemics are often considered “big levelers” events. We show that the Spanish Flu, one of the deadliest pandemics in history, doesn’t fit this narrative in Spain, which became more unequal.
The unequal impact of the Spanish flu in South Africa
Using a novel measure of healthcare inequality, this research shows that the 1918 Influenza epidemic in South Africa exacerbated existing large racial inequalities in access to institutionalized medical treatment.
