open access publication

Article, 2024

Size isn’t everything: COVID-19 and the role of government

Public Choice, ISSN 1573-7101, 0048-5829, Pages 1-18, 10.1007/s11127-023-01127-z

Contributors

Kurrild-Klitgaard, Peter 0000-0002-5897-361X (Corresponding author) [1]

Affiliations

  1. [1] University of Copenhagen
    2. [NORA names: KU University of Copenhagen; University; Denmark; Europe, EU; Nordic; OECD]

Abstract

The emergence of the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 quickly generated claims that the crisis had demonstrated the superiority of extensive welfare states and a failure of market economies. We conduct cross-sectional statistical analyses to test this claim with regard to first response and reported COVID-19 related deaths per 31 December 2020 (N = 164–200), using government spending as a central variable. The analyses confirm some of what is known from other studies: COVID-19 deaths associate positively and robustly with ageing and more obese populations. However, we find no statistically significant associations between various measures of government size and the number of COVID-19 deaths, alone or when controlled against demographic, political and economic factors. If anything, the general effectiveness of government services and the availability of hospital beds seem more important than the simple size of government or level of health care expenditures.

Keywords

COVID-19, COVID-19 deaths, COVID-19 pandemic, COVID-19 related deaths, age, analysis, association, availability, availability of hospital beds, bed, care expenditures, central variable, claims, crisis, cross-sectional statistical analysis, death, economic factors, economy, effect, effectiveness of government services, emergency, expenditure, extensive welfare state, factors, failure, global COVID-19 pandemic, government, government services, government size, government spending, health care expenditures, hospital beds, level of health care expenditures, levels, market economy, measurements, measures of government size, obese population, pandemic, population, related deaths, response, services, significant association, simple size, size, size of government, spending, state, statistical analysis, statistically, statistically significant association, study, superiority, variables, welfare state

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