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JOAN ROSES

Image of JOAN ROSES
London School of Economics and Political Science

webinar link: https://zoom.us/j/93377478990    


Title: Unequal Mortality during the Spanish Flu

(By Sergi Basco (UB), Jordi Domènech (UC3M) and Joan R. Rosés (LSE))


Abstract: The outburst of deaths and cases of Covid-19 around the world has renewed the interest to understand the mortality effects of pandemics across regions, occupations, age and gender. The Spanish Flu is the closest pandemic to Covid-19 and mortality rates in Spain were among the largest in today’s developed countries. Moreover, the level of development varied substantially across regions. Our main result is to document substantial heterogeneity on mortality rates across occupations, with the largest mortality effects of the flu on low-income workers, and between cities and countryside, with a substantial rural penalty. There were however still large mortality inter-provincial differences for the same occupation and location, suggesting the existence of an unexplained regional component in rates of flu contagion.


Bio: Professor Joan R.Rosésis head of Department of Economic History at London School of Economics and CEPR fellow. He holds a PhD for the European University Institute (Florence) and has enjoyed academic positions at Carlos III, Pompeu Fabra, Lund, UC Berkeley, and ICS-Lisbon. He is the main editor of the European Review of Economic History and fellow and trustee of several academic societies. His research interest covers European regional development, long-run economic growth, and factor markets. Recently, he is working (With S. Basco and J. Domenech) in the economic and social impact of the 1918 flu in Spain.