COVID-19 and Inequality - Surveys Program

The Corona pandemic poses historical challenges to many countries. At first, the crisis saw medicinal and epidemiological aspects given most of the spotlight, but slowly political, social and economic questions have captured more attention. Most pertinently, fears have been voiced that the Corona pandemic might reinforce inequalities in many ways.

To develop a better understanding of how people in Germany handle the social and political consequences of the Corona crisis, the Cluster of Excellence "The Politics of Inequality" has installed a surveys program with the participation of researchers from several different departments and disciplines at the University of Konstanz (Sociology, Political Science, Economics and Psychology).

The surveys focus on the social and political consequences of the coronavirus crisis and cover multiple topics, such as the perceived individual and social consequences of the pandemic and the measures taken to contain it, trust in health and social policy and the welfare state, support for government aid given to businesses, gender inequalities, questions of solidarity within the EU, opinions on the "Corona app", on debates about loosening the emergency measures, and on perceived infection risks in the working place.

The survey program took the form of several online panels taken during April-June 2020, with over 8,000 participants. A second wave of 7,000 interviews was collected in October-November 2020 and features a panel setting. In May 2021, we conducted a third survey wave with more than 6,000 participants.

The surveys combine the latest research about the highly unusual pandemic-induced situation with a wider range of interdisciplinary questions that are at the core of the Cluster's long-term agenda.