IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/openec/v4y2021i1p106-117n1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What determines governments’ response time to COVID-19? A cross-country inquiry on the measure restricting internal movements

Author

Listed:
  • De Simone Elina

    (Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy)

  • Mourao Paulo Reis

    (Department of Economics ---amp--- NIPE Economics---amp--- Management School University of Minho, Braga, Portugal)

Abstract

After the appearance of the first COVID-19 cases and deaths, countries’ responses were enacted at different points in time. This paper explores the factors behind the timeliness of travel restriction policies at the onset of the pandemic. Using instrumental variable techniques on a sample of 149 countries, our empirical exercise shows that while urban population and political stability are conducive to a prompt activation of a government’s lockdown policy after initial cases, a country’s wealth and the rule of law may produce an opposite effect. When the time from first deaths is considered, the presence of a female leader, net migration levels, voice and accountability, and political stability are associated with a quicker launch of a domestic travel restriction policy, while democracy and a country’s wealth may represent an obstacle to an immediate policy activation.

Suggested Citation

  • De Simone Elina & Mourao Paulo Reis, 2021. "What determines governments’ response time to COVID-19? A cross-country inquiry on the measure restricting internal movements," Open Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 106-117, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:openec:v:4:y:2021:i:1:p:106-117:n:1
    DOI: 10.1515/openec-2020-0116
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1515/openec-2020-0116
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1515/openec-2020-0116?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Askitas, Nikos & Tatsiramos, Konstantinos & Verheyden, Bertrand, 2020. "Lockdown Strategies, Mobility Patterns and COVID-19," IZA Discussion Papers 13293, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Sanderson, Eleanor & Windmeijer, Frank, 2016. "A weak instrument F-test in linear IV models with multiple endogenous variables," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 190(2), pages 212-221.
    3. Facundo Piguillem & Liyan Shi, 2022. "Optimal Covid-19 Quarantine and Testing Policies," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(647), pages 2534-2562.
    4. Greg Kaplan & Benjamin Moll & Giovanni L. Violante, 2020. "The Great Lockdown and the Big Stimulus: Tracing the Pandemic Possibility Frontier for the U.S," NBER Working Papers 27794, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Amuedo-Dorantes, Catalina & Borra, Cristina & Rivera Garrido, Noelia & Sevilla, Almudena, 2020. "Timing is Everything when Fighting a Pandemic: COVID-19 Mortality in Spain," IZA Discussion Papers 13316, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    6. Lee, Jean N. & Mahmud, Mahreen & Morduch, Jonathan & Ravindran, Saravana & Shonchoy, Abu S., 2021. "Migration, externalities, and the diffusion of COVID-19 in South Asia☆," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    7. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Ercolano, 2020. "Bonding and Bridging Social Capital and Lockdown. An Analysis of the Italian Regions," Rivista economica del Mezzogiorno, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 3, pages 437-454.
    8. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Michael Ganslmeier & Panu Poutvaara, 2020. "Public Attention and Policy Responses to Covid-19 Pandemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 8409, CESifo.
    9. Baccini, Leonardo & Brodeur, Abel, 2020. "Explaining Governors' Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States," IZA Discussion Papers 13137, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Ercolano & Gaetano Vecchione, 2020. "Religious Attendance and Covid-19. Evidences from Italian Regions," CESifo Working Paper Series 8596, CESifo.
    11. Pulejo, Massimo & Querubín, Pablo, 2021. "Electoral concerns reduce restrictive measures during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    12. Carozzi, Felipe & Provenzano, Sandro & Roth, Sefi, 2020. "Urban Density and COVID-19," IZA Discussion Papers 13440, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Carozzi, Felipe & Provenzano, Sandro & Roth, Sefi, 2020. "Urban density and Covid-19," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108484, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. Felipe Carozzi & Sandro Provenzano & Sefi Roth, 2020. "Urban density and Covid-19," CEP Discussion Papers dp1711, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Robert J. R. Elliott & Ingmar Schumacher & Cees Withagen, 2020. "Suggestions for a Covid-19 Post-Pandemic Research Agenda in Environmental Economics," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 76(4), pages 1187-1213, August.
    2. Neha Deopa & Piergiuseppe Fortunato, 2022. "Language and the cultural markers of COVID-19," Post-Print hal-03665755, HAL.
    3. Richard Florida & Charlotta Mellander, 2022. "The geography of COVID-19 in Sweden," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 68(1), pages 125-150, February.
    4. Ellen, Ingrid Gould & Howland, Renata & Glied, Sherry, 2023. "Demons of density do higher-density environments put people at greater risk of contagious disease?," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(PB).
    5. Gerritse, Michiel, 2022. "COVID-19 transmission in cities," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    6. Mouratidis, Kostas, 2021. "How COVID-19 reshaped quality of life in cities: A synthesis and implications for urban planning," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    7. Milena Almagro & Joshua Coven & Arpit Gupta & Angelo Orane-Hutchinson, 2020. "Racial Disparities in Frontline Workers and Housing Crowding during COVID-19: Evidence from Geolocation Data," Opportunity and Inclusive Growth Institute Working Papers 37, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    8. Fabio Vanni & David Lambert, 2021. "On the regularity of human mobility patterns at times of a pandemic," Papers 2104.08975, arXiv.org.
    9. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Wang, Han, 2021. "Local institutions and pandemics: City autonomy and the Black Death," CEPR Discussion Papers 16593, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Perugini, Francesco, 2024. "Local government efficiency and economic growth: The Italian case," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Hung-Ying Chen & Colin McFarlane & Priyam Tripathy, 2024. "Density and pandemic urbanism: Exposure and networked density in Manila and Taipei," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 61(8), pages 1526-1544, June.
    12. Mello, Marco & Moscelli, Giuseppe, 2022. "Voting, contagion and the trade-off between public health and political rights: Quasi-experimental evidence from the Italian 2020 polls," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1025-1052.
    13. Richard Gearhart & Lyudmyla Sonchak-Ardan & Nyakundi Michieka, 2022. "The efficiency of COVID cases to COVID policies: a robust conditional approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(6), pages 2903-2948, December.
    14. Max Nathan & Henry Overman, 2020. "Will coronavirus cause a big city exodus?," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 47(9), pages 1537-1542, November.
    15. Deopa, Neha & Fortunato, Piergiuseppe, 2022. "Language and the cultural markers of COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    16. Sheng, Jaymee & Malani, Anup & Goel, Ashish & Botla, Purushotham, 2022. "JUE insights: Does mobility explain why slums were hit harder by COVID-19 in Mumbai, India?," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    17. Almagro, Milena & Coven, Joshua & Gupta, Arpit & Orane-Hutchinson, Angelo, 2023. "Disparities in COVID-19 risk exposure: Evidence from geolocation data," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    18. Siew Bee Aw & Bor Tsong Teh & Gabriel Hoh Teck Ling & Pau Chung Leng & Weng Howe Chan & Mohd Hamdan Ahmad, 2021. "The COVID-19 Pandemic Situation in Malaysia: Lessons Learned from the Perspective of Population Density," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-21, June.
    19. Usep Nugraha & Budy P. Resosudarmo & Rus’an Nasrudin, 2023. "Examining the impact of urban compactness on work and social life disruption during COVID-19 pandemic: evidence from Jakarta, Indonesia," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 16(1), pages 1-26, December.
    20. Rafiq, Rezwana & McNally, Michael G. & Sarwar Uddin, Yusuf & Ahmed, Tanjeeb, 2022. "Impact of working from home on activity-travel behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An aggregate structural analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 35-54.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; lockdown; institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H1 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • P16 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Capitalist Institutions; Welfare State
    • E65 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Studies of Particular Policy Episodes

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:openec:v:4:y:2021:i:1:p:106-117:n:1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.degruyter.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.