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What Determines the Severity of International Lockdowns?

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  • Vincent Miozzi
  • Benjamin Powell

Abstract

We use a new data set measuring Lockdown Regulatory Freedom to examine the pre‐pandemic factors associated with how severely governments locked down their economy in 2020 across a large cross‐section of countries. We find that pre‐pandemic levels of other economic freedoms and hospital bed capacity relative to population were both associated with less severe lockdown regulations. These associations were both statistically significant and economically meaningful in magnitude. The positive association between other economic freedoms and less severe lockdowns grew in size and significance over the course of the pandemic in 2020. However, despite the statistical and economic significance of our findings, most of the variation in the stringency of international lockdowns remains unexplained and a topic for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent Miozzi & Benjamin Powell, 2026. "What Determines the Severity of International Lockdowns?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 93(1), pages 3-13, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:soecon:v:93:y:2026:i:1:p:3-13
    DOI: 10.1002/soej.70049
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