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Abstract
Why have countries responded differently to the COVID-19 pandemic? We explore the role of institutions in shaping the response of governments and citizens to the progression of the disease, both conceptually and empirically. We document a puzzling fact: countries with “good institutions” – strong executive constraints, the holding of free and fair elections and more freedom – tend to have performed worse during the initial phase of the pandemic. They have been slower to implement a lockdown and experienced a larger death toll. On the other hand, countries with higher interpersonal trust and higher confidence in government appear to have fared better. We find limited evidence of differences in mobility reduction by citizens based on institutions in their country.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief questions about government and citizen responsiveness to the greatest global health crisis in more than 100 years
The pandemic has led to a series of unprecedented policy measures – ranging from lockdowns to government-funded furlough– and requests for citizens to suspend their normal economic and social interactions to limit the spread of the disease
Deaton has shown that the death rate is considerably higher in high-income countries [12]. Given this difference between high- and low-income countries, we will focus on the relationship between the level of deaths and various country-level variables related to institutions and culture, while controlling for income per capita, the differences that can be observed in subsequent figures look at the effect after taking into account the fact that rich countries have been more severely affected by COVID-19
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown into sharp relief questions about government and citizen responsiveness to the greatest global health crisis in more than 100 years. The pandemic has led to a series of unprecedented policy measures – ranging from lockdowns to government-funded furlough– and requests for citizens to suspend their normal economic and social interactions to limit the spread of the disease.
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