**2.2 Inequality and social hardship**

One characteristic of social impact which presents itself in the current economic model, on a global scale, lies in the increase of inequality, traditionally measured through the "Gini index" which considers the differentials that present themselves amidst the different income classes. The notion is increasingly important given its connotations with two of the world's largest economies, the USA and China, ranking top in both the West and the East within terms of inequality. It's interesting to note that China, while formally a communist country, has a much higher level of social inequality compared to that of Japan, despite Japan being generally accepted as the main capitalist nation in the Eastern world. Exasperated capitalism seems to spread better in this era in the less democratic countries. In any case, the dimension of inequality constitutes as one of the basic characteristics in the current and prevalent development model, which calls into question the function of welfare policies and social inclusion networks. A deeper analysis into the Covid pandemic seems to only exacerbate the critical elements of the current development model, given the connection between the spread of the pandemic and the growth of inequality factors. The apparent need to counteract the increased condition of inequality and related social dynamics is becoming more and more important in light of the recent pandemic and its aggravations:


#### *Inclusion Policies and Territorial Welfare Networks between Society, Work and the Economy… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96035*

If we consider the trend of wealth in the West over the course of the pandemic, we can observe that OCSE countries have seen an unprecedented growth in bank deposits. Such data indicates that the crisis may be leading to an extra-economic situation, especially when compared to historical data, with the previous financial and unemployment crisis of 2009/2011 we saw a decrease in bank deposits and savings. The extra-economic situation is also plausible given the natural consequence of the containment measures adopted during the pandemic, in the months following the decrease in the infection, there will likely be, as usually the case after a crisis, an increase in consumption. Having said this, the decrease in propensity concerned itself primarily with expenses such as international tourism, generally speaking, it was those individuals with a higher level of income that had a greater effect of savings. This excess of savings affects not only families, but companies, particularly those in an advantageous situation, i.e. operating in technological innovation, or those who have had access to forms of financial support. According to analysts, this phenomenon also leads to an increased level of inequality, given that its likely these saved resources remain in the bank deposits of the owners. This is one of the ongoing phenomena that illustrates how the crisis, induced by Covid 19, is destined to aggravate inequality, a common factor among the recent economic crises faced in the past decades since the turn of the millennium.

While this phenomenon is more evident in countries already known for characteristics including a greater level of inequality, less welfare coverage and a less gradual tax systems, such as the United States, the risk in the West is still apparent. The sequence of crises that have spanned the last twenty years have contributed to a divide in people, a distance in social classes, decreases in opportunities and an impoverished middle class. It's a trend that can only be stopped through robust investments in human development, health, education, welfare in the workplace. It's the process of rebuilding social bonds weakened by the continuous attack of crises and the advance of inequality in a system that requires performance, feeds expectations and generates depression, a phenomenon that is widespread, especially among the richer counties.

One of the most important cultural changes that will prevail at the end of the pandemic is therefore a renewed focus on the responsible innovation of life models. Forms of social interaction and production of goods and services based on investments in innovation capable of promoting responsible growth, directly or indirectly linked to the use of digital technologies for more sustainable development, must be promoted. If the spread of the health crisis feeds factors of inequality, it is equally evident how inclusion policies aimed at reducing social inequality can contribute to not only contain, but also reduce health risk factors. There is, therefore, an interesting connection between social risk containment policies and interventions to reduce health risks.
