Social capital and the spread of covid-19: Insights from european countries
Alina K. Bartscher, Sebastian Seitz, Sebastian Siegloch, Michaela Slotwinski, Nils Wehrhöfer
Abstract
We investigate the effect of social capital on health outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic in independent analyses for Austria, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and Switzerland. Exploiting detailed geographical variation within countries, we show that a one-standard-deviation increase in social capital leads to between 14% and 34% fewer Covid-19 cases per capita accumulated from mid-March until end of June 2020, as well as between 6% and 35% fewer excess deaths per capita. Our results highlight the positive health returns of strengthening social capital.
Topics & Concepts
Per capitaCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)Social capitalPandemicDemographic economicsEconomicsSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakCapital (architecture)Development economicsGeographyDemographyPolitical sciencePopulationMedicineOutbreakSociologyLawInfectious disease (medical specialty)VirologyPathologyArchaeologyDiseaseCOVID-19 epidemiological studiesHealth disparities and outcomesIncome, Poverty, and Inequality