The impact of civil liberties, global health security, median age and population size on the spread of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)
International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
ISSN: 0144-333X
Article publication date: 10 May 2021
Issue publication date: 10 May 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of civil liberties, global health security, median age and population size on the spread of COVID-19 across the globe.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was done by taking data from 166 different countries from the Economist Intelligence Unit, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, World Bank, Johns Hopkins University and United Nations Population Division (UNPD). After conducting all the necessary standard econometric tests, the study was analyzed using the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression.
Findings
The finding of the study indicated that COVID-19 tests per million people (LTT/PM), Population Size (LPOP), Civil Liberty Index (CLI) are statistically significant and positively affect the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases; on the other hand, the Health Security Index (HSI) negatively affects the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Practical implications
In emergency circumstances, the government ought to have a special responsibility to align civil rights with the protection of public health cautiously. However, measures to restrict civil liberties must be proportionate.
Originality/value
Besides other variables, the study included and considered civil liberties as a significant factor to affect the spread of COVID-19, which is a new contribution to the existing body of knowledge in the field.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: This research did not receive any specific grant.
Ethical approval: Since the authors employed openly available data (https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html), there is no need for ethical approval.
Author’s contribution: All authors equally contribute to this study.
Declaration of competing interest: We do not have any competing or conflicting interests.
Citation
Legese, H., Biru, W., Tilahun, F. and Semaw, H. (2022), "The impact of civil liberties, global health security, median age and population size on the spread of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2)", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 42 No. 5/6, pp. 498-508. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-01-2021-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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