Table 1.
Variables: Description and Sources
| Description | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent variable | ||
| Incidence rate | The number of diagnosed cases adjusted per million inhabitants when the government began implementing hard measures. | IMF and Think Global Health |
| Covariates | ||
| Health expenditure per capita (ppp) (LN) | Logarithm of total healthcare expenditure per capita in 2017 (ppp). | World Bank |
| Tourism | Logarithm of total travel and tourism contribution to GDP. | World Bank |
| Trade | Logarithm total trade ‐imports and exports‐ as % GDP. | World Bank |
| Previously locked countries | Total # of countries that had begun to implement hard measures when pandemic hits the country. | Own elaboration |
| Political regime | Score representing from −1 (Parliamentary system) to 1 (Presidential system) | Institutional webs |
| Unitary | Dummy variable that equals 1 if the state is Unitary and 0 if it is Federal | Encyclopedia Britannica |
| Authoritarianism | Score from 0 (full political rights and civil liberties) to 100 (no political rights and civil liberties) on level of authoritarianism of country | Freedom House Index |
| Tenure of the Prime Minister (LN) | Logarithm of # of days since the PM took office | Institutional webs |
| Coalitional government | Dummy variable that equals 1 if the national government is a coalition | Institutional webs |
| Km from Wuhan | Logarithm of the distance in kilometers between Wuhan and the capital city of the country | Google maps API |
| Gender of the Prime Minister | Dummy variable that equals 1 if the Prime Minister is a female | Institutional webs |
| Ideology | Score from −1 (left) to 1 (right) of the political orientation of the political party of the PM. Center parties are given a 0. The classification is based on international political alliances. | World Bank Database of Political Institutions and institutional webs |
| Days to next election | Logarithm of the number of days between the first diagnosed case in the country and the next scheduled or expected relevant election date | National Democracy Institute and institutional webs |
| Alternative covariates | ||
| Health expenditure % GDP | Logarithm of the health expenditure as % GDP | World Bank |
| Public health expenditure % GDP | Logarithm of public health expenditure as % GDP | World Bank |
| GHS Health capacity | Health capacity score (0–100) to fight pandemic outbreaks | GHS Index |
| Previously affected countries | Total number of countries that had diagnosed cases when the pandemic hits the country | Own elaboration |
| Previously affected neighbors | Total number of neighboring countries that had diagnosed cases when pandemic hits the country | Own elaboration |