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Family Ties and the Pandemic: Some Evidence from Sars-CoV-2

Author

Listed:
  • Luca Di Gialleonardo

    (Mefop, Rome, Italy)

  • Mauro Marè

    (Tuscia and Luiss University, Italy)

  • Antonello Motroni

    (Mefop, Rome, Italy)

  • Francesco Porcelli

    (University of Bari)

Abstract

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the relationship between the strength of family ties and the spread of Sars-CoV-2. The dataset is constructed for a cross-section of 63 countries combining different data sources, to cover seven dimensions: the spread of the virus, family ties, trust and religion, policies implemented to stop the outbreak, status of the economy, geography, demography. We observe a robust positive relationship between family ties and the contagion rate across the world; in particular, the attitude of parents towards the wellbeing for their children is the main force that drives the positive correlation with the contagion. Instead, the respect toward parents (the variable love-parents) seems to be a component of the family ties which negatively correlates with the diffusion of Sars-CoV-2, leading to the final quadratic relationship between the overall family ties strength and the spread of the virus. As conclusive evidence, we observe that the death rate, as well as the recovery rate, are not affected by the strength of family ties and other social capital variables. What matters, in this case, are structural variables like GPD, number of hospital beds per capita, life expectance, median age and geographical location.

Suggested Citation

  • Luca Di Gialleonardo & Mauro Marè & Antonello Motroni & Francesco Porcelli, 2020. "Family Ties and the Pandemic: Some Evidence from Sars-CoV-2," Working papers 100, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    • Handle: RePEc:ipu:wpaper:100
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Family Ties; Sars-CoV-2; social capital; pandemic;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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