Purpose

The purpose of this study is to understand the factors that contribute to the number of reported coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths among low-income and high-income countries, and to understand the sources of differences between these two groups of countries.

Design/methodology/approach

Multiple linear regression models evaluate the socio-economic factors that determine COVID-19 deaths in the two groups of countries. The Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition is used to examine sources of differences between these two groups.

Findings

Low-income countries report a significantly lower average number of COVID-19 deaths compared to high-income countries. Community mobility and the easiness of carrying the virus from one place to another are significant factors affecting the number of deaths, while life expectancy is only significant in high-income countries. Higher health expenditure is associated with more reported deaths in both high- and low-income countries. Factors such as the transport infrastructure system, life expectancy and the percent of expenditure on health lead to the differences in the number of deaths between high- and low-income countries.

Social implications

Our study shows that mobility measures taken by individuals to limit the spread of the virus are important to prevent deaths in both high- and low-income countries. Additionally, our results suggest that countries with weak health institutions underestimate the number of deaths from COVID-19, especially low-income countries. The underestimation of COVID-19 deaths could be affecting a great number of people in poverty in low-income economies.

Originality/value

This paper contributes to the emerging literature on COVID-19 and its relation to socio-economic factors by examining the differences in reported between deaths between rates in low-income and high-income countries.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 死亡人数的决定因素：大流行初期低收入国家和高收入国家之间的差异

目的

本研究的目的是了解导致低收入和高收入国家报告的冠状病毒 (COVID-19) 死亡人数的因素，并了解这两组国家之间差异的来源。

设计/方法/方法

多元线性回归模型评估了决定两组国家 COVID-19 死亡人数的社会经济因素。Oaxaca-Blinder 分解用于检查这两个组之间差异的来源。

发现

与高收入国家相比，低收入国家报告的 COVID-19 平均死亡人数要低得多。社区流动性和病毒从一个地方携带到另一个地方的容易程度是影响死亡人数的重要因素，而预期寿命仅在高收入国家才有意义。在高收入和低收入国家，较高的卫生支出与更多报告的死亡人数有关。交通基础设施系统、预期寿命和卫生支出百分比等因素导致高收入和低收入国家之间的死亡人数存在差异。

社会影响

我们的研究表明，个人为限制病毒传播而采取的流动措施对于防止高收入和低收入国家的死亡都很重要。此外，我们的结果表明，卫生机构薄弱的国家低估了 COVID-19 的死亡人数，尤其是低收入国家。对 COVID-19 死亡人数的低估可能会影响低收入经济体中的大量贫困人口。

原创性/价值

本文通过检查低收入和高收入国家死亡率之间报告的死亡率差异，为关于 COVID-19 及其与社会经济因素关系的新兴文献做出了贡献。