Act early to prevent infections and save lives: causal impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic
This paper examines the causal impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show that a 1-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: |
Essen
Global Labor Organization (GLO)
2021
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| Series: | GLO discussion paper
no. 931 |
| In: |
GLO discussion paper (no. 931)
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/240910/1/GLO-DP-0931.pdf Resolving-System, kostenfrei: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/240910 
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| Author Notes: | Simiao Chen, Zhangfeng Jin, Sebastian Vollmer, Till Bärnighausen, David E. Bloom |
| Summary: | This paper examines the causal impact of diagnostic efficiency on the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Using an instrumental variable approach, we show that a 1-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 was larger for cities that are farther from the COVID-19 epicenter, are exposed to less migration, have more responsive public health systems, and have higher-capacity utilization of health systems. Social distancing and a less burdened health system are likely underlying mechanisms. |
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| Physical Description: | Online Resource |