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Country Performance during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Externalities, Coordination and the Role of Institutions

Author

Listed:
  • Santiago Lago-Peñas

    (Governance and Economics Research Network (GEN), University of Vigo, Spain)

  • Jorge Martinez-Vazquez

    (International Center for Public Policy, Georgia State University, USA)

  • Agnese Sacchi

    (Department of Economics and Law, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy)

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic is one of the most powerful examples of negative externalities across the globe. We focus on the role played by institutions at the country level in fighting the spread of Covid-19 by making policy coordination more difficult or, on the contrary, more effective. Specifically, we consider the type of political regimes, political fragmentation and decentralization settings. We use the most recently available information on Covid-19 performance for up to 115 countries around the world. Our main results show that having either democracies or autocracies does not represent a crucial issue for successfully addressing the pandemic. Most significantly, countries with centralized political parties, which fundamentally allow for better coordination at the national level, perform significantly better than those with decentralized ones. However, the assignment of policy responsibilities to sub-national governments is an impediment in fighting the Covid-19 emergency.

Suggested Citation

  • Santiago Lago-Peñas & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez & Agnese Sacchi, 2020. "Country Performance during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Externalities, Coordination and the Role of Institutions," International Center for Public Policy Working Paper Series, at AYSPS, GSU paper2018, International Center for Public Policy, Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Georgia State University.
    • Handle: RePEc:ays:ispwps:paper2018
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    File URL: https://icepp.gsu.edu/files/2020/11/paper2018.pdf
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    Cited by:

    1. Emmanuel Mutambara & Cele Thanduxolo J, 2023. "Assessing the functionality of the department of the education in disruptive times using the Viable System Model: Case of the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, South Africa," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 12(2), pages 513-528, March.
    2. Ryota Nakatani & Qianqian Zhang & Isaura Garcia Valdes, 2024. "Health Expenditure Decentralization and Health Outcomes: The Importance of Governance," Publius: The Journal of Federalism, CSF Associates Inc., vol. 54(1), pages 59-87.
    3. Klaudijo Klaser, 2020. "A Theory of Justice of John Rawls as Basis for European Fiscal Union," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 11(1-2).
    4. Emanuele Millemaci & Fabio Monteforte & Jonathan R. W. Temple, 2025. "Have Autocrats Governed for the Long Term?," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 78(2), pages 440-465, May.
    5. Debalke, Negash Mulatu, 2023. "Exploring Disparate Effects of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its Containment Measures on Food Security within Ethiopia," MPRA Paper 118288, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Apr 2023.
    6. Valentin Burcă & Oana Bogdan & Ovidiu-Constantin Bunget & Alin-Constantin Dumitrescu, 2024. "Corporate Financial Performance vs. Corporate Sustainability Performance, between Earnings Management and Process Improvement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-43, September.
    7. María Cadaval-Sampedro & Ana Herrero-Alcalde & Santiago Lago-Peñas & Jorge Martinez-Vazquez, 2025. "Extreme events and the resilience of decentralised governance," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(1), pages 2255627-225, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • H77 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations - - - Intergovernmental Relations; Federalism

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