Associating the Change in New COVID-19 Cases to GDP per Capita in 38 European Countries in the First Wave of the Pandemic
Open Access
- 20 January 2021
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Frontiers Media SA in Frontiers in Public Health
- Vol. 8, 582140
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.582140
Abstract
COVID-19 has affected all countries globally. We explore associations between the change in new COVID-19 registered cases per million population and various macroeconomic and well-being indicators in 38 European countries over a 2-month period (1st April-31st May 2020). A statistically significant (p = 0.002) negative association was estimated between the change in new COVID-19 cases and GDP per capita, after controlling for key health determinants including public expenditure on health, life expectancy, smoking tobacco and sanitation. The country with the highest GDP per capita in Europe (i.e., Luxemburg) was found to experience the lowest change in new COVID-19 cases within the time period whilst the opposite was found for countries with lower GDP per capita (i.e., Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Romania). The outcomes of this study indicate that, in the first wave of the pandemic in Europe, a country's GDP per capita might be associated with a lower rate of new COVID-19 cases. The study concludes by suggesting that in European regions a country's economic performance should be a critical health priority for policy makers.This publication has 48 references indexed in Scilit:
- The relationship between recessions and healthIZA World of Labor, 2016
- The effect of unemployment on self-reported health and mental health in Greece from 2008 to 2013: A longitudinal study before and during the financial crisisSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 2015
- Changing patterns of mortality in 25 European countries and their economic and political correlates, 1955–1989International Journal of Public Health, 2013
- Life expectancy and national income in Europe, 1900-2008: an update of Preston’s analysisInternational Journal of Epidemiology, 2013
- Developing a comprehensive time series of GDP per capita for 210 countries from 1950 to 2015Population Health Metrics, 2012
- The relationship between health and GDP in OECD countries in the very long runHealth Economics, 2011
- The public health effect of economic crises and alternative policy responses in Europe: an empirical analysisThe Lancet, 2009
- Commentary: Economic growth is the basis of mortality rate decline in the 20th century—experience of the United States 1901–2000International Journal of Epidemiology, 2005
- Healthy Bodies and Thick Wallets: The Dual Relation Between Health and Economic StatusJournal of Economic Perspectives, 1999
- The Changing Relation between Mortality and Level of Economic DevelopmentPopulation Studies, 1975