Database - Human Mobility and Regional Wage Inequality in the Light of COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania –a Sectorial Approach

The paper investigates the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on an emerging economy from the Eastern European region. The aim is to emphasize the short-run consequences of the coronavirus shock upon regional wage inequality in Romania within an augmented theoretical framework of inequalities. An original database was constructed to include data on wage inequality at sectorial and territorial levels. Novel data on human mobility were incorporated to stress the role of restricted mobility in the propagation of the labour supply and demand COVID shocks in the economy. The estimated generalized least squares method is performed in our panel (period 2019-2021). The main finding discloses that the COVID-led contraction in human mobility resulted in the rise of intra-regional wage inequality and the effect was stronger in the industry and construction sector. The study highlights new mechanisms through which standard determinants have impacted regional wage inequality in various sectors during the crisis.