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A Lockdown a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: The Global Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in Mitigating the Covid-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Anthonin Levelu
  • Alexander-Nikolai Sandkamp

Abstract

Countries have employed a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in order to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the success of individual measures in reducing the number of infections remains controversial. This paper exploits a panel data set of 181 countries to estimate the effects of twelve NPIs on the spread of the disease in 2020. The employed fixed effects estimation greatly reduces endogeneity concerns. While almost all measures had a dampening effect on the reproduction rate of the virus, school closings and restrictions on gatherings were most effective, followed by international travel restrictions and contact tracing. The obligation to wear face masks was more effective during the second wave. Measures requiring significant resources, such as testing, were more effective in developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Anthonin Levelu & Alexander-Nikolai Sandkamp, 2022. "A Lockdown a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: The Global Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions in Mitigating the Covid-19 Pandemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 10023, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10023
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alessandro CARRARO & Lucia FERRONE & Margherita SQUARCINA, 2020. "Are COVID-19 Containment Measures Equally Effective in Different World Regions?," Working Papers - Economics wp2020_11.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    2. Thomas Hale & Noam Angrist & Rafael Goldszmidt & Beatriz Kira & Anna Petherick & Toby Phillips & Samuel Webster & Emily Cameron-Blake & Laura Hallas & Saptarshi Majumdar & Helen Tatlow, 2021. "A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 5(4), pages 529-538, April.
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    4. Alipour, Jean-Victor & Fadinger, Harald & Schymik, Jan, 2021. "My home is my castle – The benefits of working from home during a pandemic crisis," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    5. Daniel Hoechle, 2007. "Robust standard errors for panel regressions with cross-sectional dependence," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 7(3), pages 281-312, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; non-pharmaceutical interventions; policy analysis; panel data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C13 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General - - - Estimation: General
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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