Table 9.
Definitions of the variables included in SAR regression
| Variables | Definitions | Source |
|---|---|---|
| COVID-19 cases | A person with laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 infection as of 30 September 2020 |
Our World in Data |
| COVID-19 deaths | A death resulting from a clinically compatible illness, in a probable or confirmed COVID-19 case, unless there is a clear alternative cause of death that cannot be related to COVID disease (e.g. trauma) as of 30 September 2020 |
Our World in Data |
| COVID-19 case fatality rate | Calculated as the number of confirmed deaths associated with COVID-19 divided by the confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 30 September 2020 |
Our World in Data |
| GDP per capita | GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP). PPP GDP is gross domestic product converted to international dollars using purchasing power parity rates. Data are in constant 2017 international dollars |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Extreme poverty | Percentage of the population living on less than $1.90 a day at 2011 international prices |
World Bank (PovcalNet) |
| Population density | Population density is midyear population divided by land area in square kilometers |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Population ages 65 + (%) | Population ages 65 and above as a percentage of the total population. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Medical resources index | A composite index constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) from logs of three variables: (i) physicians (per 1,000 people); (ii) nurses and midwives (per 1,000 people); and (iii) hospital beds (per 1,000 people) |
World Bank (WDI) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS |
| UHC service coverage index | Coverage index for essential health services (based on tracer interventions that include reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health, infectious diseases, noncommunicable diseases and service capacity and access). It is presented on a scale of 0 to 100 |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Stringency index | A composite index measuring the strictness of government policy responses to COVID-19 based on nine response indicators including school closures, workplace closures, cancellation of public events, restrictions on public gatherings, closures of public transport, stay-at-home requirements, public information campaigns, restrictions on internal movements, and international travel controls, rescaled to a value from 0 to 100 (100 = strictest) |
Our World in Data |
| Governance index | A composite governance index constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) from six governance indicators Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) database: (i) voice and accountability; (ii) political stability and the absence of violence/terrorism; (iii) government effectiveness; (iv) regulatory quality; (v) rule of law; and (vi) control of corruption |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Trade | Trade is the sum of exports and imports of goods and services measured as a share of gross domestic product |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Air transport (passengers carried) | Air passengers carried include both domestic and international aircraft passengers of air carriers registered in the country |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Mortality index (non-natural) | A composite index of non-natural causes of mortality constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) from logs of four variables: (i) mortality rate attributed to household and ambient air pollution, age-standardized (per 100,000 population); (ii) cause of death, by communicable diseases and maternal, prenatal and nutrition conditions (% of total); (iii) mortality from CVD, cancer, diabetes or CRD between exact ages 30 and 70 (%); and (iv) mortality rate attributed to unsafe water, unsafe sanitation and lack of hygiene (per 100,000 population) |
World Bank (WDI) https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.AIRP.P5 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.DTH.COMM.ZS |
| Immunization index | A composite index constructed using principal component analysis (PCA) from logs of two variables: (i) immunization, DPT (% of children ages 12–23 months); and (ii) immunization, measles (% of children ages 12–23 months |
World Bank (WDI) |
| Shock | A dummy variable that equals one if a country is affected by six pandemics (Hong Kong Flu, 1968; SARS, 2003; H1N1, 2009; MERS, 2012; Ebola, 2014, and Zika, 2016 and zero otherwise) | Hand collected |