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The political economy of pandemic preparedness and effectiveness

Author

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  • Cullen S. Hendrix

    (Peterson Institute for International Economics)

Abstract

The success of countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic has varied greatly. Explanations for the differences fall into four broad categories: political/economic, cultural/social, demographic/geographic, and policy-oriented. This paper uses Bayesian model averaging to assess the explanatory power of 21 potential covariates. It shows that standard political economy variables that predict greater investment in public health, such as GDP per capita and level of democracy; both general and pandemic-specific measures of government effectiveness; and demographic factors that predict increased vulnerability, such as the share of population that is elderly or obese, do not explain the differences in outcomes. The key factors appear to have been interdictability (the ability to tightly control borders and effectively restrict or monitor entrants at a limited number of entry ports), the early adoption of stronger international travel restrictions, and a female head of government.

Suggested Citation

  • Cullen S. Hendrix, 2021. "The political economy of pandemic preparedness and effectiveness," Working Paper Series WP21-10, Peterson Institute for International Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:iie:wpaper:wp21-10
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    File URL: https://www.piie.com/publications/working-papers/political-economy-pandemic-preparedness-and-effectiveness
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    Cited by:

    1. Messner, Wolfgang, 2023. "The contingency impact of culture on health security capacities for pandemic preparedness: A moderated Bayesian inference analysis," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; public health; OECD;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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