Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Inequality, 8 July 2021, More information at: https://www.oecd.org/wise/events/covid-and-inequality-webinars.htm

1. Inequalities in a post-Covid world
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
Webinar Series on COVID-19 and Inequality
Paris (virtual), 8 July 2021

2. The pandemic and its inequality implications
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3. Covid-19 has taken over our lives
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4. Covid-19 is not the first pandemic
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5. Covid-19 as a challenge for all
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Pre- Post-
Winners Consequences Impact Winners

6. Covid-19 as a challenge for all (II)
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oBig cities regarded as the main entry points:
o Air connectivity
o International travellers
o Density
oAnd considered by many as facing a turning point
oIs this the death of the large city as we know it?
o Technological change allowing to delocalise activity (A ‘flat’ world?)
o Smaller, more remote locations offering protection and refuge.

7. But the geography of Covid-19 is very uneven
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8. But the geography of Covid-19 is very uneven
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8

9. But the geography of Covid-19 is very uneven
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10. Both outside and inside cities
As of 13 June 2020.
Source: New York City Health Department. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-data.page#download
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New York

11. With, in some cases, feeding on inequality
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New York

12. But not in others
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London Madrid

13. Factors behind the uneven incidence
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14. Agglomeration, density, wealth, connectivity
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15. Readiness of health system, climate, environment
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16. Institutions
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17. The forces of change
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18. The forces of change
Social scarring Forced social experiment
Changes to maintain social
distance
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19. Consequences for inequality
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20. Accelerating interpersonal inequality
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21. Accelerating transformations: ‘Old’ vs ‘New’
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GM in 1969
o 2nd largest company
o 800,000 workers
o 24 countries (119 plants in the US alone)
o Most in medium-sized towns
o 39,000 firms supplying services
o Upstream suppliers paid almost 50% of
revenues received by the company
Facebook in 2019
o 6th largest company by market value
o Less than 40,000 workers
o Mostly concentrated in Menlo Park
headquarters
o Less than 7,900 workers outside the US
o Average profit per worker 53 times higher
than in GM (in constant dollars)
‘Old Economy’ ‘New Economy’

22. ‘Old’ vs ‘New’ retail
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European retail 2019
o 15% of the workforce
o 32.3 million workers
Amazon 2019
o 800,000 workers
o Annual growth rate: 21% (2019)
‘Old Economy’ ‘New Economy’

23. Spatial inequalities
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24. Macrogeography
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25. Microgeography
Sustainable transportation
CREATIVE CiTY
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26. Conclusions
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27. Covid-19 as a challenge for territories
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Pre- Post-
Winners Consequences Impact

28. oThe pandemic will affect the role of cities and regions, depending on
o The incidence in each place
o The measures adopted to get out of the crisis
o And variations in capacity to redefine uses and spaces
oThe pandemic, with all its negative impact, offers an opportunity to rethink
our cities and their relationship with regions and other spaces
o The winners will be those able to adapt to change
o And create the conditions for good living conditions and an adequate ecosystem to develop
new ideas and attract talent
oBut not everyone will have the same ability to adapt
o Institutional, political, social and economic conditions will make a difference
oBut the opportunity is there to generate a more efficient, fair and sustainable
territorial system
The future of cities post-COVID
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29. Cities and Regions in a post-Covid world
Andrés Rodríguez-Pose
More information at http://personal.lse.ac.uk/rodrigu1/
@rodriguez_pose