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Cross-country effects and policy responses to COVID-19 in 2020: The Nordic countries

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  • Gordon, Daniel V.
  • Grafton, R. Quentin
  • Steinshamn, Stein Ivar

Abstract

We provide a three-step analysis of the effects and responses to COVID-19 in Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden), large Western European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and United Kingdom) and OECD Europe. First, we compare public health trends over 2020 in terms of per capita COVID-19 cases, fatalities, testing and the stringency of social distancing (SD) measures. Second, in a ‘like-with-like’ policy response model between Nordic countries, we test for the effects of air border closures on the growth in per capita COVID-19 cases while accounting for differences in stringency of social distancing and other measures. Third, using data from OECD European countries, we regress percentage change in GDP (2020–2019) on cumulative per capita national COVID-19 fatalities. We find that: (1) Sweden is an outlier, relative to its Nordic neighbours, in its COVID-19 public health outcomes; (2) Sweden would have had reduced cases and fatalities if it had adopted the air border closures implemented by its Nordic neighbours in the first half of 2020; and, (3) for OECD Europe, there is a statistically significant and negative association between per capita COVID-19 fatalities and economic performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Gordon, Daniel V. & Grafton, R. Quentin & Steinshamn, Stein Ivar, 2021. "Cross-country effects and policy responses to COVID-19 in 2020: The Nordic countries," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 198-210.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:71:y:2021:i:c:p:198-210
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2021.04.015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Padhan, Rakesh & Prabheesh, K.P., 2021. "The economics of COVID-19 pandemic: A survey," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 220-237.
    2. Jena, Pradyot Ranjan & Majhi, Ritanjali & Kalli, Rajesh & Managi, Shunsuke & Majhi, Babita, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on GDP of major economies: Application of the artificial neural network forecaster," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 324-339.
    3. Tisdell, Clement A., 2020. "Economic, social and political issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 17-28.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Viriya Taecharungroj & Olga Rauhut Kompaniets, 2024. "Decoding Nordic cities: uncovering multi-level place experiences from tweets for effective city branding," Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 157-179, June.
    2. MASUHARA Hiroaki & HOSOYA Kei, 2022. "What Impacts Do Human Mobility and Vaccination Have on Trends in COVID-19 Infections? Evidence from four developed countries," Discussion papers 22087, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    3. Giorgio Calcagnini & Slađana Pavlinović Mršić & Laura Policardo & Edgar J. Sanchez Carrera, 2024. "Policy choices and compliance behavior in pandemic times," Journal of Economic Interaction and Coordination, Springer;Society for Economic Science with Heterogeneous Interacting Agents, vol. 19(4), pages 587-615, October.
    4. Segarra-Blasco, Agustí & Teruel, Mercedes & Cattaruzzo, Sebastiano, 2021. "The economic reaction to non-pharmaceutical interventions during Covid-19," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 592-608.
    5. Sen, Anindya & Baker, John David & Zhang, Qihuang & Agarwal, Rishav Raj & Lam, Jean-Paul, 2023. "Do more stringent policies reduce daily COVID-19 case counts? Evidence from Canadian provinces," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 225-242.
    6. Sakawa, Hideaki & Watanabel, Naoki, 2023. "The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on Japanese shipping industry: An event study approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 130-140.
    7. Da Gong & Andong Yan & Jialin Yu, 2024. "The Costs of Zero-Covid: Effects of Anti-contagious Policy on Labor Market Outcomes in China," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 436-478, September.
    8. Rosell, Jordi, 2023. "Did governments neglect the environment during the COVID-19 pandemic? An empirical analysis of green public procurement," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 835-849.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Social distancing; Border closures; Health-economic trade-offs; Sweden;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C54 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Quantitative Policy Modeling
    • E01 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Measurement and Data on National Income and Product Accounts and Wealth; Environmental Accounts
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management

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