Income inequality in our country and poverty will not increase due to the corona crisis, but will probably decrease slightly. That says economist and poverty expert Ive Marx (UAntwerpen).
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Professor Ive Marx would “not be surprised” if it later turned out that the corona crisis has reduced the income gap in our country and relative poverty. Strange, however, because that goes completely against the feeling that the corona crisis will bring unseen economic disaster. “Definitive figures are not yet available,” says Marx. “Yet I suspect that poverty will not have increased. The government took an extensive package of measures during the first corona wave: there was the system of temporary unemployment due to corona, there were allowances for those who had lost wages, a Flemish energy premium. That has had a strong effect on people who were most affected. ”
Benefits remained the same, while many people suffered partial wages, so that narrowed the income gap. “At the same time, there were also a lot of people who saw their income continue to run and limited their spending during the lockdown: that has exploded savings.”
Hit harder
That is not to say that people who were already in poverty were not much more affected by the corona crisis, Marx emphasizes. This is also evident from a study by the Socialist Mutualities. The excess mortality during the first wave was greatest in the segment of the population with the lowest income. “There are also indications that people who were already short on learning disabilities, mental well-being and cases of abuse are more affected,” Marx says.
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