Racial Capitalism and Neighborhood Health Disparities: the COVID-19 in California Counties

PURPOSE: This article explores the association between racial capitalism and neighborhood-level health disparities, with a particular focus on COVID-19 in California. METHODS: This article investigates COVID-19 incidence in 58 California counties. To account for racial capitalism, the study looks at the per capita incomes ratios (1) between whites and Blacks and (2) between whites and Hispanics. Other county-level neighborhood characteristics were controlled. RESULTS: Findings from spatial autoregressive models indicate that increases in white-Black and white-Hispanic income disadvantages lead to an increase in COVID-19 incidence in 58 California counties. Findings also reveal that the disadvantage that results from the white-Black income ratio in COVID-19 spread decreases in counties that report high levels of income inequality between whites and Hispanics. DISCUSSION: Findings indicate that a greater income disadvantage for racial minorities is connected to a more COVID-19 incidence. With regard to racial demographics in California, the interaction effect between measures for racial income disadvantages is discussed.