Politics, policy, and pandemic control: a global perspective. Issue 1 (2nd January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Stowell, Nicholas; Immormino, Joseph; Ortiz Salazar, Ana; Zeng, Yuzhu; Arbetman-Rabinowitz, Marina
• Is Part Of: Canadian foreign policy. Volume 28:Issue 1(2022)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 21
• Publication Date: 2022-01-02
• Subjects: COVID-19 -- coronavirus -- political capacity -- policy; Canada -- Foreign relations -- Periodicals; 327.71005
• DOI: 10.1080/11926422.2021.2007966
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1192-6422

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the structural political and economic determinants of country-level severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. By conducting an empirical analysis of 118 countries through the first wave of the pandemic, we show that – unlike natural disasters and past viral outbreaks – national wealth has not insulated countries from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19. Further, we show that timely and responsive policy measures are vital, but so too is the capacity of governments to compel their populations to adhere the chosen policies. While a society's age structure is a key determinant of its COVID-19 mortality rate, we demonstrate that political capacity, combined with an appropriate policy response, outweighs economic and demographic factors in forecasting within-country severity of the pandemic.