Joint Discussion Paper

Series in Economics
by the Universities of
Aachen ∙ Gießen ∙ Göttingen
Kassel ∙ Marburg ∙ Siegen
ISSN 1867-3678

No. 18-2020

Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, Mehdi Feizi and Hassan F.

Gholipour

Globalization and Outbreak of COVID-19: An Empirical

Analysis

This paper can be downloaded from

http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb02/makro/forschung/magkspapers

Coordination: Bernd Hayo • Philipps-University Marburg

School of Business and Economics • Universitätsstraße 24, D-35032 Marburg
Tel: +49-6421-2823091, Fax: +49-6421-2823088, e-mail: [email protected]
 05.04.2020

Globalization and outbreak of COVID-19: An empirical analysis

Mohammad Reza Farzanegana, Mehdi Feizib, Hassan F. Gholipourc

a Philipps-Universität Marburg, Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS), Economics of the
Middle East Research Group, Marburg, Germany & CESifo (Munich), ERF (Cairo) (farzanegan@uni-
marburg.de).
b Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Mashhad, Iran

([email protected]).
c Swinburne University of Technology, Faculty of Business and Law (FBL), Melbourne, Australia

([email protected]).

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between globalization,

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, and associated deaths in more than 100

countries. Our ordinary least squares multivariate regressions show that countries

with higher levels of socio-economic globalization are exposed more to COVID-19

outbreak. Nevertheless, globalization cannot explain cross-country differences in

COVID-19 confirmed deaths. The fatalities of coronavirus are mostly explained by

cross-country variation in health infrastructures (e.g., share of out of pocket spending

on health per capita and the number of hospital beds) and demographic structure (e.g.,

share of population beyond 65 years old in total population) of countries. Our least

squares results are robust to controlling outliers and regional dummies. This finding

provides the first empirical insight on the robust determinants of COVID-19 outbreak

and its human costs across countries.

Keywords: COVID-19; globalization; public health

JEL Classifications: I12; I18; I15 F63; F68

1
1. Introduction

The spread of the highly contagious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe

acute respiratory syndrome worldwide has affected 743,201 individuals and has taken

the life of 35,000 persons1 in 192 countries (by 30 March 2020). Yet, the negative impact

of the coronavirus outbreak is not limited just to the loss of lives insofar as it has short

and long-term socio-economic effects throughout the world.

There are already several reports and studies dealing with the economic

consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in different countries. The coronavirus

outbreak has interrupted trade, supply chains and tourism – all of which have had an

impact on the global economy (Ahani & Nilashi, 2020). McKibbin and Fernando (2020)

demonstrate that, in the short-run, even a controlled outbreak could significantly

affect the global economy. Evenett (2020) provides a critical review of the initial trade

policy response to COVID-19.

According to the International Monetary Fund Managing Director, COVID-19

outbreak will cause a global recession in 2020 that could be worse than the one

triggered by the global financial crisis of 2008-2009.2 In a recent report, OECD (2020)

forecasts that a longer-lasting and more intensive coronavirus outbreak can drop

global growth by 1.5%in 2020. So far, it has been estimated that the outbreak will lead

to a drop in economic growth in China from 6% to 2% (Khan & Faisal, 2020). Results

of Wang et al. (2020)’s study reveal a similar picture where China's expected gross

domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2020 will reduce from 6.50% to 1.72%. Based

on different scenarios for the impact of the pandemic on growth, the International

Labour Organization (ILO) estimates that the global unemployment could increase by

almost 25 million (ILO, 2020).

1 https://ncov2019.live/ (note that data in this website is updated daily. Our analysis is based on data
which were available at 30 March)
2 https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/03/23/pr2098-imf-managing-director-statement-

following-a-g20-ministerial-call-on-the-coronavirus-emergency

2
 As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have banned or

imposes restrictions on interpersonal interactions, social, cultural and international

trade exchanges3.

There is an increasing interest to understand the main explanatory factors of

cross-country differences in the pattern of COVID-19 confirmed cases and fatalities.

The pandemic seems to be a major blow to the current form of globalization (Bremmer,

2020), that slows its speed, if does not reverse it (Bloom, 2020), and even may create a

new version of globalization which is more regulated (Hutton, 2020). Yet,

globalization with the worldwide flow of people, goods, money, information, and

ideas, in huge scale and speed, might also be guilty of allowing the speedy spread of

the outbreak. Since, for instance, the spread of the COVID-19 disease relies heavily on

human-to-human interactions, movement of people internationally could be a

dominant driver of its outbreak.

In this paper, we examine whether and to what extent different aspects of

globalization are responsible for the outbreak of the COVID-19. In our study, we

assess the relationship between different components of globalization, COVID-19

cases, and associated deaths in more than 100 countries. We use multivariate

regression analyses, controlling for other plausible factors of COVID-19 outbreak.

There are studies which have examined the negative influence of globalization on

health risks (for a review, see Pang et al., 2004 and Woodward et al., 2001). However,

our research is the first empirical examination of socio-economic factors (globalization

indicators in particular) which may explain, at least partially, the COVID-19 outbreak.

The paper proceeds as follows: Section 2 describes the data and the estimation

method; Section 3 presents the findings; and Section 4 concludes.

3For a list of countries with travel restrictions see https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-travel-

restrictions.html

3
2. Data and methodology

We hypothesize that countries with higher levels of globalization are associated with

a higher number of COVID-19 cases, ceteris paribus. We, also expect to observe an

insignificant relationship between globalization and confirmed deaths of COVID-19,

controlling for other explanatory variables such as health infrastructure and

demography of countries. To test these hypotheses, we use confirmed cases of

COVID-19 and death figures per million by 30 March 2020. The data is regularly

updated based on information of local governments’ websites/ health departments

and can be found at https://ncov2019.live/data.

The base-line econometric model has the following form:

𝐶𝑂𝑉𝐼𝐷19 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ𝑠𝑖 = 𝛽1 . 𝐺𝑙𝑜𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑖 + 𝛽2 . 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑠𝑖 + 𝜀𝑖 (1)

The subscript 𝑖 refers to country 𝑖, where there are 100 countries with deaths

associated with COVID-19 and 138 countries infected with the Coronavirus. To

explain cross-country differences in confirmed cases and death numbers of COVID-

19, we use the revised version of KOF indices of globalization as the main explanatory

variable (Gygli et al., 2019). This composite index measures the economic, social and

political dimensions of globalization. Based on 43 variables (instead of 23 variables in

its original version as was introduced by Dreher, 2006), various dimensions of

globalization including trade, finance, interpersonal, information, culture, and politics

are covered. We examine the association between each of these dimensions of

globalization and confirmed cases of COVID-19 and associate fatalities.

Potrafke (2015) provides a survey of various socio-economic effects of KOF

globalization index. He identified more than 100 studies which have used this index

to measure countries interaction with the rest of the world. His survey shows that

globalization, on average, has more positive consequences for countries in a term of

economic growth, gender equality, and human rights. On the negative side,

globalization may also fuel within-country inequalities. In our study, we explore a

4
new dimension of globalization and that is the contagion level of COVID-19 across

countries. We take the average the different dimensions of globalization from 2010 to

2017, the latest available data. Under economic globalization, we consider trade and

financial dimensions. Social globalization dimensions comprise of interpersonal and

information categories. Finally, political dimensions consider the degree of integration

of a country in global politics.

While we estimate different specifications to examine the association between

different dimensions of globalization and COVID-19 outbreak and deaths, we control

for other important explanatory variables (obtained from the World Bank, 2020) and

regional dummies:

GDP per capita: it is capturing the available financial resources and state

capacity in testing COVID-19 and recording such statistics. Poor economies may not

be able to test and diagnose COVID-19 cases or even may care less about the

consequences of the outbreak of COVID-19 due to their lower opportunity costs.4 We

use log of GDP per capita (in purchasing power parity (PPP) prices) and the data are

averaged values between 2010 to 2019.

Health system capacity: It has been a trending topic around the COVID-19

outbreak (Aleem, 2020). We use log of the number of nurses and midwives (per 1,000

people) and log of the number of hospital beds5 (per 1000 people), averaged values

between 2010 and 2019, as a measure of health system capacity to reduce the negative

consequences of COVID-19. We expect to observe a negative correlation between the

number of nurses, and hospital beds with death numbers of COVID-19. Modern

infrastructures, public health institutions, and efficient medical treatment control the

4
For a related study on the dynamic relationship between GDP and infectious diseases, see Zhang et
al. (2016).
5
Hospital beds include inpatient beds available in public, private, general, and specialized hospitals
and rehabilitation centres. In most cases, beds for both acute and chronic care are included (World
Bank, 2020).

5
community of infected individuals and keep them far below the critical threshold

which is needed for endemic or even epidemic transmission (Murphy, 2006).

Population density: A higher density of the population may mean more

interactions among people and thus a higher risk of contagion. Tarwater and Martin

(2001) found a significant effect of population density on the epidemic outbreak of

measles or measles-like infectious diseases. We use the average values of population

density between 2010 and 2019.

Demographic structure: the Coronavirus infects people, regardless of their age.

However, evidence suggests that the infection rate is likely age-dependent

(Suwanprasert, 2020) and older people are at a higher risk of getting severe COVID-

19 disease6. A higher share of elderly in the population may also mean a higher

vulnerability versus COVID-19. Analysis of Zhou et al. (2020) show in-hospital death

due to COVID-19 is more likely for patients with older age. Early data from China

suggest that a majority of coronavirus disease 2019 deaths have occurred among

adults aged more than 60 years and among persons with serious underlying health

conditions.7 Evans and Werker (2020) also argue that uncontrolled virus could have a

far lesser death toll in a much younger population. We use an average share of

population ages 65 and above in the total population, from 2010 to 2019, and expect it

to have a positive correlation with fatalities of COVID-19.

Costs of health care: to control for financial costs of health care for people, we use

out-of-pocket expenditure on heath per capita, PPP (current international $) averaged

from 2010 to 2019. Out of pocket payments are spending on health directly out of

pocket by households in each country. Its higher levels may indicate a higher burden

of health care and thus higher vulnerability of individuals against COVID-19. Earlier

studies show that ineffective health financing systems and lack of social protection

6http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-
19/statements/statement-older-people-are-at-highest-risk-from-covid-19,-but-all-must-act-to-prevent-
community-spread
7 https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm6912e2_w#suggestedcitation

6
networks are main drivers of out-of-pocket health expenditure which consequently

leads to consumption a large portion of household’s budget (e.g., van Doorslaer et al.,

2006). Table 1 presents summary statistics of key variables.

Table 1. Summary statistics

Variables Obs. Mean Std. Min Max
Dev.
log of COVID-19 confirmed cases (per million) 138 3.30 2.29 -1.73 8.07
log of COVID-19 deaths (per million) 100 0.01 1.90 -3.94 5.18
KOF economics globalization index 138 61.08 15.88 28.21 94.24
KOF social globalization index 138 66.34 16.49 28.20 91.84
KOF political globalization index 138 71.14 17.28 21.82 98.32
log GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 138 9.42 1.13 6.70 11.67
log of population density 138 4.26 1.37 0.64 8.95
Population ages 65 and above (% of total population) 138 9.08 5.98 0.89 25.20
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, per capita, 138 5.37 1.10 1.45 7.59
US$)
log of total number of nurses (per 1000) 138 1.01 1.10 -1.65 2.88
log of total number of hospital beds (per 1000) 138 0.79 0.89 -2.30 2.60

Table 2 presents the correlation between COVID-19 confirmed cases and associated

deaths by 30 March 2020 (in log) and economic, social, and political KOF globalization

indices.

Table 2. Correlation between (selected dimensions of) KOF globalization indices and
COVID-19 cases and deaths (by 30 March 2020)

log of COVID-19 log of COVID- KOF KOF KOF

confirmed cases 19 deaths per economic social political
per million million globalizatio globalizat globalizati
n ion on
log of COVID-19 1
confirmed cases
per million
log of COVID-19 0.8633 1
deaths per million
KOF economic 0.5422 0.3721 1
globalization
KOF social 0.8527 0.6844 0.6788 1
globalization
KOF political 0.234 0.1643 0.3503 0.3145 1
globalization

7
As can be seen from Table 2, there is a stronger correlation between social

globalization index followed by economic and political dimensions of globalization

with COVID-19 outbreak. We will examine the robustness of these correlations

through multivariate regression analysis.

3. Results

Main analyses

We apply the ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation method with robust standard

errors. The main variables of interest are different KOF globalization (sub-)indices. All

models include GDP per capita (PPP, US$), as a proxy for the relative wealth of nations

and economic activities, population density, to account for the higher chance of human-

to-human interaction which itself makes infection more likely, ratio of people over 65

years old in the total population, to take into account countries with more high-risk

population as well as health system infrastructure proxies such as number of nurses and

number hospital beds, both per 1000 population, and out- of-pocket spending on health per

capita (PPP, US$), to consider degree of government involvement in the health system

and financial burden of health care on people. Moreover, we incorporated regional

dummies which control for regional specific characteristics which may also impact the

outbreak of COVID-19 such as geography, cultural and behavioral norms and

attitudes.

Table 3 shows the base-line regression results with the log of total confirmed

cases of COVID-19 as the dependent variable. Different specifications control for

various KOF globalization sub-indices which may explain the outbreak of COVID-19

across 138 countries. Our results show that there is a significant and robust association

between almost all KOF globalization sub-indices and countries’ levels of exposure to

COVID-19. We can compare the explanatory power of different dimensions of KOF

globalization indices in competition with other explanatory variables by examining

their standardized coefficients (not reported in estimations). The most powerful, not

only in magnitude but also in statistical significance, globalization dimension in

8
explaining cross-country variation of COVID-19 outbreak is the social globalization

comprised of interpersonal, information and cultural aspects of globalization8. Countries

with a one standard deviation (SD) higher levels in the social globalization score are

associated with 0.51 SD higher levels of confirmed cases of COVID-19 (per million and

in log). The least relevant aspect (in both magnitude and statistical significance) in

explaining outbreak of COVID-19 is political dimension of globalization index. This

superiority was expected as countries with more social connections are more prone to

outbreak of the Coronavirus.

Moreover, we observe that countries with higher levels of income per capita

are also showing higher levels of confirmed cases. This association is robust in all

specification and shows that more wealthy countries have more financial resources to

diagnose the COVID-19. Countries with a 1% higher level of income per capita are

diagnosing between 0.68% and 1.23% higher levels of confirmed cases of COVID-19

(columns 1-8 of Table 3). In addition, in majority of models, the share of older

population and the number of hospital beds are positively and negatively correlated

with confirmed cases, respectively. Among regional dummies, the Europe and Central

Asia dummies have the most effect which is in-line with the fact that Europe is the

most globalized region in the world.

In Table 4, we use the log of total confirmed deaths associated with COVID-19

per million.9 There are some differences in results reported in Table 4 in comparison

with estimations for confirmed cases in Table 3. In contrast to Table 3, there is almost

no statistically significant correlation between KOF globalization indices and

associated death figures of COVID-19. While globalization of markets and societies in

8
Under interpersonal aspects there are indicators such as international voice traffic, telephone
subscriptions, transfers, freedom to visit, international tourism, international students, international
airports and migration. For aspect of information globalization, we observe indicators such as used
internet bandwidth, international patents, high technology exports, television access, internet access,
and press freedom. Finally, cultural aspect includes indicators such as trade in cultural goods, trade in
personal services, international trademarks, McDonald's restaurant, IKEA stores, and gender parity.
9 Since some countries have reported zero death, the logarithmic transformation is not defined and thus

we have a smaller sample size with 100 countries.

9
the past can be mentioned as one of the robust explanatory factors behind the current

COVID-19 pandemic, but it has an insignificant role in explanting the deaths numbers

associated with it.

Among the robust determinants of fatalities of COVID-19 pandemic, we can

refer to demographic structure and health infrastructure of countries. We find a

consistent positive association between higher share of elderly in population and

COVID-19 deaths (per million). Countries with a one SD higher share of population

beyond age of 65 are associated with approximately 0.4 SD higher (log) deaths per

million. The effect of having older population has more contribution in explaining the

number of deaths compared to the number of infected cases, as age is relatively more

correlated to risk of death than getting infected in the case of COVID-19.

Furthermore, countries with a higher numbers of hospital beds and nurses (per

1000 of population) show lower records of fatalities. This negative association is

especially more statistically significant for the case of number of hospital beds. On

average and controlling for other explanatory variables, a 1% increase in the total

number of hospital beds per 1000 population is associated with approximately 0.60%

lower number of confirmed deaths of COVID-19 per million (column 1-8 of Table 4).

The size effect of number of nurses per 1000 population is also comparable with the

effect of hospital beds (with around 0.5% decreasing impact).

Countries in which people have a higher level of out-of-pocket spending on

health suffer more from higher numbers of deaths of COVID-19 pandemic. People in

countries with a weaker insurance system coverage and a higher private burden of

health costs may visit less frequently doctors and are thus more vulnerable against

high-risk diseases. They may not survive due to earlier health deficiencies amplified

by COVID-19. The effect is also sizable, as countries in which the out-of-pocket

spending on health (per capita) is on average 1% higher, experience approximately

0.70% higher numbers of COVID-19 deaths per million, ceteris paribus (column 1-8 of

Table 4)

10
 Among regional dummies, the EU and Central Asia dummy still has the most

effect on the number of deaths due to the Coronavirus per million of population, while

population density (although with expected positive sign) has no statistically

significant impact on the number of these deaths.

Sensitivity analysis

To control for the possible effects of outliers in our cross-country estimations, we re-

estimate the most general specifications and compare the results of robust regressions

with OLS. When there is a probability of outliers or influential observations in data,

robust regression is used as an alternative to least squares10. We use a number of

robust estimators for linear regression models (MM and M regressions) as introduced

and explained by Jann (2010a, 2010b). The MM and M estimators identify outliers and

reduce their weights in final estimations. Thus, they are closer to weighted least

squares.

Using the defaults, MM estimator suggests that having 85% of the efficiency of

OLS while being able to deal with up to 50% contamination in data. M-robust

regression is about 95% as efficient as OLS. Tables 5 to 8 show the results of robust

regressions. The positive and statistically significant effect of almost all KOF

globalization (sub)indices on total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 remains

robust, after assigning lower weights to observations (countries) with extreme

residuals or leverages. The association between globalization dimensions and death

numbers of COVID-19, as before, remains statistically insignificant as well.

4. Conclusion

In our study, we examined cross-country variation in exposure to COVID-19 and

associated fatalities in a multivariate regression analysis, covering more than 100

countries. Based on ordinary least squares regressions and several robust estimators

for linear regression models which address the possibility of outliers, we find a robust

10
For more details see Verardi and Croux (2009).

11
and significant positive association between records of almost all KOF globalization

sub-indices with the current level of accumulated COVID-19 confirmed cases, but not

with the level of accumulated COVID-19 confirmed deaths. These findings are robust

in different models and after control for other possible drivers of the disease including

health system infrastructures, demographic structure, and regional dummies.

Among control variables, a higher GDP per capita, a higher share of elderly in

the population, and a higher share of out-of-pocket spending on health are positively

correlated with the number of diagnosed cases and deaths due to COVID-19 while a

larger number of hospital beds and a higher number of nurses (per 1000 population)

are negatively associated with COVID-19 related human losses.

Our results have important implications for policymakers. While globalization

has a significant positive impact on economic growth and employment, the adverse

effect of the large number of confirmed COVID-19 cases could show its dark side

during a disease epidemic. Therefore, policymakers should take into account the

health risks associated with the increasing trend of globalization of markets and

societies. Based on our empirical results, demographic structure, as well as health

infrastructures are among the most significant explanatory variables with references

to COVID-19 deaths numbers. Policymakers need to invest in the expansion of health

infrastructures such as modern hospital beds (considering the size of their population)

as well as training and employing skilled medical staff (e.g., physicians, and nurses).

In addition, we show that a higher level of out-of-pocket spending on health is

explaining part of larger numbers of human costs of COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore,

policymakers should improve the efficiency and affordability of access to health care

for all individuals and reduce the financial cost of health care on households. Tracing

the demographic developments of societies and planning for health needs of the

elderlies are also important parts of the resistance package for future pandemics.

12
Table 3. Regression results: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed cases (by 30
March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log of COVID-19 confirmed cases (per million)
KOF economic globalization index 0.026*
(1.90)
KOF trade globalization index 0.014
(1.30)
KOF financial globalization index 0.026**
(2.49)
KOF social globalization index 0.072***
(4.69)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.045***
(4.84)
KOF information globalization index 0.069***
(4.24)
KOF cultural globalization index 0.021*
(1.69)
KOF political globalization index -0.008
(-1.20)
log of population density 0.046 0.073 0.052 0.053 0.056 0.089 0.090 0.115
(0.57) (0.91) (0.67) (0.84) (0.79) (1.37) (1.26) (1.54)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 1.025*** 1.125*** 1.011*** 0.684*** 0.881*** 0.888*** 1.092*** 1.228***
(4.73) (5.38) (4.91) (3.34) (4.73) (4.95) (4.43) (6.24)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.077** 0.086*** 0.073** 0.027 0.073*** 0.038 0.051 0.107***
population)
(2.43) (2.66) (2.35) (0.89) (2.76) (1.16) (1.40) (3.03)
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, US$ 0.323* 0.313 0.296 0.316* 0.345* 0.230 0.332* 0.294
per capita)
(1.71) (1.61) (1.56) (1.74) (1.96) (1.28) (1.68) (1.54)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 population) -0.113 -0.094 -0.142 -0.364* -0.248 -0.314 -0.295 -0.100
(-0.50) (-0.39) (-0.67) (-1.79) (-1.14) (-1.63) (-1.34) (-0.41)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.294 -0.329* -0.274 -0.274* -0.365** -0.285* -0.245 -0.407**
population)
(-1.61) (-1.76) (-1.51) (-1.71) (-2.10) (-1.71) (-1.36) (-2.06)
America dummy 0.869 1.122* 0.767 0.534 0.577 0.592 1.141* 1.299**
(1.40) (1.83) (1.23) (0.84) (0.94) (0.89) (1.83) (2.16)
EU & Central Asia dummy 1.484** 1.732** 1.545** 1.756*** 1.533** 2.010*** 2.136*** 2.165***
(2.13) (2.49) (2.31) (2.85) (2.48) (3.13) (3.29) (3.30)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 0.286 0.505 0.263 0.461 0.546 0.329 0.688 0.792
(0.41) (0.73) (0.38) (0.73) (0.89) (0.49) (1.04) (1.19)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 1.038 1.236* 1.060 1.266* 1.115* 1.229* 1.499** 1.562**
(1.45) (1.71) (1.59) (1.91) (1.75) (1.79) (2.21) (2.40)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 0.908 1.195** 0.713 1.009 0.907 1.114* 1.377** 1.328**
(1.49) (2.05) (1.12) (1.65) (1.52) (1.86) (2.26) (2.29)
Countries 138 138 138 138 138 138 137 138
R-sq. 0.80 0.79 0.80 0.82 0.82 0.82 0.80 0.79

Notes: OLS estimates; t statistics in parentheses are based on clustered (at country level) standard errors. KOF globalization index is averaged values
between 2010 to 2017. Other explanatory variables are averaged values between 2010 to 2019 (or latest available period). ***, **, * refers to statistical
significance at 1, 5, and 10% levels, respectively.

13
Table 4. Regression results: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed deaths (by
30 March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log of COVID-19 deaths (per million)
KOF economic globalization index -0.009
(-0.52)
KOF trade globalization index -0.008
(-0.55)
KOF financial globalization index -0.005
(-0.33)
KOF social globalization index 0.013
(0.59)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.027*
(1.80)
KOF information globalization index 0.004
(0.17)
KOF cultural globalization index -0.012
(-0.79)
KOF political globalization index -0.014
(-1.19)
log of population density 0.206 0.204 0.190 0.161 0.145 0.172 0.188 0.171
(1.55) (1.58) (1.44) (1.33) (1.22) (1.39) (1.51) (1.43)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 0.855*** 0.828*** 0.832*** 0.666* 0.499* 0.756** 0.911*** 0.773***
(2.87) (2.93) (2.75) (1.98) (1.70) (2.58) (2.74) (2.86)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.126*** 0.124*** 0.124*** 0.109** 0.109*** 0.117** 0.140*** 0.151***
population)
(2.85) (2.87) (2.83) (2.28) (2.71) (2.44) (2.70) (2.97)
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, 0.719** 0.722** 0.716** 0.711** 0.717** 0.712** 0.723** 0.714**
US$ per capita)
(2.28) (2.30) (2.25) (2.21) (2.32) (2.20) (2.30) (2.28)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 -0.526* -0.538* -0.523* -0.554* -0.497* -0.545* -0.504* -0.527*
population)
(-1.83) (-1.86) (-1.81) (-1.90) (-1.69) (-1.82) (-1.71) (-1.82)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.646** -0.637** -0.633* -0.597** -0.591** -0.606** -0.633** -0.678**
population)
(-2.05) (-2.09) (-1.96) (-2.01) (-2.07) (-2.02) (-2.05) (-2.18)
America dummy 2.035*** 2.002*** 1.976*** 1.732*** 1.454** 1.834*** 1.966*** 1.833***
(3.26) (3.35) (3.15) (2.86) (2.53) (2.85) (3.56) (3.59)
EU & Central Asia dummy 3.314*** 3.344*** 3.188*** 3.001*** 2.539*** 3.095*** 3.100*** 3.021***
(4.48) (4.41) (4.84) (4.85) (3.81) (5.27) (5.44) (5.24)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 1.716** 1.738** 1.632** 1.480** 1.269** 1.542** 1.613** 1.564**
(2.42) (2.46) (2.41) (2.21) (1.99) (2.26) (2.56) (2.51)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 2.395*** 2.424*** 2.311*** 2.197*** 1.944*** 2.241*** 2.239*** 2.285***
(3.57) (3.53) (3.78) (3.63) (3.14) (3.67) (4.25) (4.48)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 3.141*** 3.076*** 3.098*** 2.862*** 2.505*** 2.959*** 3.042*** 2.887***
(4.47) (4.85) (4.24) (4.59) (4.05) (4.96) (5.30) (5.39)
Countries 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100
R- sq. 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.64 0.65 0.64 0.64 0.64

Notes: OLS estimates; t statistics in parentheses are based on clustered (at country level) standard errors. KOF globalization index is averaged
values between 2010 to 2017. Other explanatory variables are averaged values between 2010 to 2019 (or latest available period). Robust t statistics
are in (). ***, **, * refers to statistical significance at 1, 5, and 10% levels, respectively

14
Table 5. Robust MM regressions: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed cases
(by 30 March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log of COVID-19 confirmed cases (per million)
Robust MM-Regression (85% efficiency)
KOF economic globalization index 0.036**
(2.14)
KOF trade globalization index 0.024
(1.28)
KOF financial globalization index 0.029***
(2.90)
KOF social globalization index 0.073***
(3.01)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.039***
(2.90)
KOF information globalization index 0.060***
(2.88)
KOF cultural globalization index 0.017
(1.00)
KOF political globalization index -0.012
(-1.54)
log of population density 0.066 0.090 0.104 0.134* 0.081 0.185* 0.162 0.130
(0.49) (0.61) (0.88) (1.65) (0.85) (1.65) (1.59) (1.53)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 0.863*** 1.025*** 0.926*** 0.589** 0.871*** 0.921*** 1.073** 1.211***
(2.94) (2.97) (3.91) (2.11) (2.99) (4.23) (2.55) (3.34)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.087* 0.090 0.102*** 0.034 0.084** 0.074** 0.088** 0.144***
population)
(1.66) (1.17) (3.15) (0.76) (2.18) (2.21) (2.09) (4.42)
log of out of pocket spending on health 0.228 0.324 0.144 0.279 0.299 0.096 0.239 0.271
(PPP, US$ per capita)
(0.96) (0.84) (0.73) (1.37) (1.34) (0.64) (1.34) (1.12)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 -0.003 -0.040 -0.059 -0.248 -0.173 -0.180 -0.199 -0.148
population)
(-0.01) (-0.12) (-0.24) (-0.94) (-0.68) (-0.62) (-0.79) (-0.38)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.155 -0.195 -0.137 -0.332 -0.339 -0.219 -0.158 -0.293
population)
(-0.79) (-0.85) (-0.77) (-1.43) (-0.99) (-1.15) (-0.79) (-1.35)
America dummy 1.217 1.380 1.415 -0.298 0.435 1.427 2.043 1.451
(0.57) (0.56) (0.60) (-0.26) (0.20) (0.43) (1.21) (0.96)
EU & Central Asia dummy 1.360 1.536 1.737 0.723 1.200 2.385 2.582* 2.034
(0.70) (0.70) (0.83) (0.58) (0.61) (0.80) (1.65) (1.53)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 0.680 0.894 1.058 -0.507 0.402 1.270 1.771 1.407
(0.29) (0.34) (0.45) (-0.42) (0.19) (0.39) (1.09) (0.98)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 1.186 1.137 1.641 0.093 0.869 1.753 2.188 1.754
(0.54) (0.42) (0.73) (0.07) (0.40) (0.56) (1.36) (1.17)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 1.025 1.412 1.145 -0.102 0.540 1.837 2.106 1.510
(0.46) (0.59) (0.48) (-0.09) (0.23) (0.56) (1.29) (0.98)
Countries 138 138 138 138 138 138 137 138

Note: MM estimation aims to obtain estimates that have a high breakdown value and more efficient. Breakdown value is a common measure of the
proportion of outliers that can be addressed before these observations affect the model. Robust estimators should be resistant to a certain degree of data
contamination. MM-estimator has a breakdown point of 50%, e.g., it is resistant to a contamination of up-to 50% of outliers

15
Table 6. Robust M regressions: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed cases (by
30 March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log COVID-10 confirmed cases per million
Robust M-Regression (95% efficiency)
KOF economic globalization index 0.031***
(2.67)
KOF trade globalization index 0.019*
(1.79)
KOF financial globalization index 0.029***
(3.10)
KOF social globalization index 0.069***
(3.08)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.043***
(4.28)
KOF information globalization index 0.064***
(4.06)
KOF cultural globalization index 0.019
(1.41)
KOF political globalization index -0.010
(-1.58)
log of population density 0.045 0.069 0.060 0.088 0.065 0.129** 0.111 0.118*
(0.62) (0.91) (0.86) (1.40) (0.96) (2.20) (1.58) (1.71)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 0.945*** 1.062*** 0.956*** 0.684*** 0.883*** 0.893*** 1.070*** 1.204***
(3.96) (4.75) (4.76) (2.71) (4.58) (4.63) (3.44) (4.95)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.077** 0.083** 0.080*** 0.036 0.074** 0.051 0.061 0.120***
population)
(2.24) (2.36) (2.61) (0.96) (2.37) (1.59) (1.49) (3.39)
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, US$ 0.300 0.329 0.238 0.264 0.315* 0.186 0.312 0.294
per capita)
(1.51) (1.61) (1.28) (1.16) (1.76) (1.12) (1.32) (1.51)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 population) -0.074 -0.065 -0.117 -0.317 -0.210 -0.263 -0.265 -0.091
(-0.29) (-0.25) (-0.54) (-1.46) (-0.92) (-1.32) (-1.11) (-0.31)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.224 -0.266 -0.203 -0.240 -0.350* -0.262 -0.202 -0.365*
population)
(-1.14) (-1.34) (-1.19) (-1.38) (-1.85) (-1.37) (-1.02) (-1.84)
America dummy 0.923 1.158 0.876 0.695 0.536 0.613 1.352 1.345
(1.12) (1.39) (1.02) (0.73) (0.50) (0.57) (1.25) (1.35)
EU & Central Asia dummy 1.349 1.580* 1.486* 1.760** 1.416 1.850* 2.192** 2.084**
(1.59) (1.84) (1.86) (2.01) (1.43) (1.79) (2.10) (2.19)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 0.354 0.580 0.416 0.547 0.491 0.381 0.937 1.040
(0.40) (0.65) (0.48) (0.58) (0.47) (0.35) (0.87) (1.04)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 0.978 1.121 1.137 1.264 1.012 1.079 1.590 1.608
(1.12) (1.22) (1.32) (1.31) (0.95) (1.00) (1.44) (1.57)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 0.870 1.209 0.696 1.025 0.765 1.049 1.472 1.385
(1.03) (1.45) (0.77) (1.06) (0.71) (1.01) (1.31) (1.34)
Countries 138 138 138 138 138 138 137 138

16
Table 7. Robust MM regressions: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed deaths
(by 30 March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log of COVID-19 death per million
Robust MM-Regression (85% efficiency)
KOF economic globalization index -0.002
(-0.06)
KOF trade globalization index -0.002
(-0.05)
KOF financial globalization index -0.003
(-0.17)
KOF social globalization index 0.025
(0.65)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.036
(1.56)
KOF information globalization index 0.015
(0.32)
KOF cultural globalization index -0.010
(-0.48)
KOF political globalization index -0.014
(-0.82)
log of population density 0.271 0.269 0.216 0.231 0.233* 0.239 0.281* 0.255*
(1.23) (1.26) (1.39) (1.23) (1.78) (1.11) (1.84) (1.74)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 0.800* 0.793* 0.758** 0.568 0.426 0.704 0.897* 0.809**
(1.74) (1.67) (2.51) (0.91) (1.00) (1.38) (1.95) (2.01)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.084 0.083 0.110** 0.057 0.060 0.072 0.098 0.111
population)
(0.80) (0.81) (2.06) (0.78) (1.18) (0.91) (0.93) (1.19)
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, US$ 0.825 0.822 0.785** 0.768* 0.747** 0.782 0.836 0.766*
per capita)
(1.34) (1.41) (2.00) (1.70) (2.30) (1.63) (1.59) (1.86)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 population) -0.411 -0.412 -0.478 -0.431 -0.314 -0.456 -0.384 -0.389
(-0.88) (-0.87) (-1.46) (-1.09) (-0.93) (-1.04) (-0.79) (-0.98)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.677 -0.668 -0.620 -0.594 -0.615* -0.610 -0.702 -0.732*
population)
(-1.30) (-1.52) (-1.38) (-1.34) (-1.79) (-1.23) (-1.59) (-1.65)
America dummy 2.107* 2.095** 1.985*** 1.797** 1.512** 1.878** 2.139*** 1.998***
*
(2.39) (2.55) (3.02) (2.22) (2.09) (2.06) (3.33) (3.37)
EU & Central Asia dummy 3.298* 3.298** 3.171*** 3.001*** 2.393*** 3.174*** 3.257*** 3.085***
**
(3.01) (2.53) (4.63) (3.84) (2.76) (4.65) (5.08) (4.26)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 1.935* 1.933* 1.668** 1.654** 1.513** 1.716* 1.987*** 1.936***
(1.91) (1.74) (2.44) (2.05) (2.48) (1.82) (2.81) (2.89)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 2.039* 2.038 2.148*** 1.778** 1.355* 1.872** 1.978*** 1.969***
(1.85) (1.56) (3.46) (2.26) (1.65) (2.25) (3.22) (3.59)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 3.142* 3.122*** 3.089*** 2.841*** 2.413*** 2.985*** 3.165*** 2.970***
**
(2.62) (2.92) (3.52) (3.22) (3.03) (3.41) (3.99) (4.25)
Countries 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

17
Table 8. Robust M- regressions: Relationship between globalization sub-indices and COVID-19 confirmed deaths
(by 30 March 2020)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Dependent variable: log of COID-19 death (per million)
Robust M-Regression (95% efficiency)
KOF economic globalization index -0.008
(-0.40)
KOF trade globalization index -0.008
(-0.47)
KOF financial globalization index -0.003
(-0.17)
KOF social globalization index 0.017
(0.81)
KOF interpersonal globalization index 0.029*
(1.83)
KOF information globalization index 0.010
(0.39)
KOF cultural globalization index -0.009
(-0.59)
KOF political globalization index -0.013
(-0.95)
log of population density 0.231 0.231 0.216 0.187 0.180 0.195 0.218* 0.202
(1.52) (1.61) (1.39) (1.37) (1.39) (1.45) (1.67) (1.46)
log of GDP per capita (PPP, US$) 0.789*** 0.776*** 0.758** 0.574* 0.447 0.682** 0.852** 0.745*
(2.63) (2.68) (2.51) (1.67) (1.45) (2.24) (2.25) (1.85)
population ages 65 and above (% of total 0.113** 0.112** 0.110** 0.089* 0.090** 0.096* 0.124** 0.134**
population)
(2.16) (2.25) (2.06) (1.76) (2.03) (1.78) (2.30) (1.98)
log of out of pocket spending on health (PPP, 0.788** 0.776** 0.785** 0.761** 0.738** 0.776** 0.767** 0.743*
US$ per capita)
(2.11) (2.35) (2.00) (2.08) (2.32) (2.17) (2.08) (1.78)
log of number of nurses (per 1000 -0.478 -0.488 -0.478 -0.503 -0.417 -0.513 -0.463 -0.464
population)
(-1.43) (-1.56) (-1.46) (-1.57) (-1.32) (-1.55) (-1.35) (-1.37)
log of number of hospital beds (per 1000 -0.642 -0.625 -0.620 -0.564* -0.572** -0.581 -0.629* -0.671*
population)
(-1.55) (-1.62) (-1.38) (-1.89) (-1.97) (-1.57) (-1.69) (-1.70)
America dummy 2.043*** 2.017*** 1.985*** 1.730*** 1.502*** 1.806*** 1.991*** 1.883***
(3.39) (3.59) (3.02) (2.90) (2.59) (2.80) (3.72) (3.77)
EU & Central Asia dummy 3.304*** 3.352*** 3.171*** 2.962*** 2.502*** 3.092*** 3.123*** 3.022***
(4.30) (4.20) (4.63) (5.08) (3.76) (5.53) (5.62) (4.83)
East Asia & Pacific dummy 1.748** 1.769** 1.668** 1.483** 1.333** 1.546** 1.677*** 1.670***
(2.50) (2.54) (2.44) (2.33) (2.21) (2.35) (2.64) (2.65)
Middle East & North Africa dummy 2.250*** 2.299*** 2.148*** 2.002*** 1.736*** 2.032*** 2.109*** 2.117***
(3.20) (3.16) (3.46) (3.57) (2.85) (3.48) (4.22) (4.39)
Sub-Sahara Africa dummy 3.157*** 3.103*** 3.089*** 2.839*** 2.477*** 2.956*** 3.062*** 2.907***
(3.90) (4.45) (3.52) (4.54) (3.83) (4.48) (4.79) (4.79)
Countries 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100

18
Data Availability Statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available
from the corresponding author on request.

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