Act early to prevent infections and save lives: causal impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic
This paper examines the impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an exogenous policy on diagnostic confirmation, we show that a one- day decrease in the time taken to confirm the first case in a city publicly led to 9.4% and 12.7% reductions in COVID-19 prevalence and mortalit...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Book/Monograph Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Bonn, Germany
IZA - Institute of Labor Economics
September 2020
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| Series: | Discussion paper series / IZA
no. 13749 |
| In: |
Discussion paper series (no. 13749)
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei: http://ftp.iza.org/dp13749.pdf Verlag, kostenfrei: https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13749/act-early-to-prevent-infections-and-save-lives-causal-impact-of-diagnostic-efficiency-on-the-covid-19-pandemic Resolving-System, kostenfrei: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/227276 
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| Author Notes: | Simiao Chen, Zhangfeng Jin, David E. Bloom |
| Summary: | This paper examines the impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic. Using an exogenous policy on diagnostic confirmation, we show that a one- day decrease in the time taken to confirm the first case in a city publicly led to 9.4% and 12.7% reductions in COVID-19 prevalence and mortality over the subsequent six months, respectively. The impact is larger for cities that are farther from the COVID-19 epicenter, are exposed to less migration, and have more responsive public health systems. Social distancing and a less burdened health system are likely the underlying mechanisms, while the latter also explains the more profound impact on reducing deaths than reducing infections. |
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| Physical Description: | Online Resource |