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Effectiveness of Government Policies in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak

Author

Listed:
  • Theologos Dergiades

    (Department of International and European Studies, University of Macedonia)

  • Costas Milas

    (University of Liverpool)

  • Elias Mossialos

    (LSE, UK)

  • Theodore Panagiotidis

    (University of Macedonia)

Abstract

This paper assesses the quantitative impact of government interventions on deaths related to the COVID-19 outbreak. Using daily data for 32 countries and relying on the stringency of the conducted policies, we find that the greater the strength of government interventions at an early stage, the more effective these are in slowing down or reversing the growth rate of deaths. School closures have a significant impact on reducing the growth rate of deaths, which is less powerful compared to the case where a number of policy interventions are combined together. These results can be informative for governments in responding to future COVID-19 outbreaks or to other pandemics not least because there is a possibility of further waves of COVID-19 infections and deaths as governments progressively relax their interventions.

Suggested Citation

  • Theologos Dergiades & Costas Milas & Elias Mossialos & Theodore Panagiotidis, 2021. "Effectiveness of Government Policies in Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak," Discussion Paper Series 2021_05, Department of Economics, University of Macedonia, revised Feb 2021.
    • Handle: RePEc:mcd:mcddps:2021_05
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    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. Basu Parantap & Bell Clive & Edwards Terence Huw, 2022. "COVID Social Distancing and the Poor: An Analysis of the Evidence for England," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 22(1), pages 211-240, January.
    3. Manthos D. Delis & Maria Iosifidi & Menelaos Tasiou, 2023. "Efficiency of government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 328(2), pages 1287-1312, September.
    4. Liana R Woskie & Jonathan Hennessy & Valeria Espinosa & Thomas C Tsai & Swapnil Vispute & Benjamin H Jacobson & Ciro Cattuto & Laetitia Gauvin & Michele Tizzoni & Alex Fabrikant & Krishna Gadepalli & , 2021. "Early social distancing policies in Europe, changes in mobility & COVID-19 case trajectories: Insights from Spring 2020," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-12, June.
    5. Carolyn Chisadza & Matthew Clance & Rangan Gupta, 2021. "Government Effectiveness and the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-15, March.
    6. Dion Bongaerts & Francesco Mazzola & Wolf Wagner, 2021. "Closed for business: The mortality impact of business closures during the Covid-19 pandemic," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Liangang Li & Shuoya Liu & Chen Li & Pingyu Zhang & Kevin Lo, 2022. "What Matters for Regional Economic Resilience Amid Multi Shock Situations: Structural or Agency? Evidence from Resource-Based Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-18, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; OxCGRT index; Effectiveness of Government Responses; Excess Mortality.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C1 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods and Methodology: General
    • C5 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling
    • I1 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health

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