Socioeconomic Conditioning of the Development of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Its Global Spatial Differentiation

Jerzy Bański, Marcin Mazur and Wioletta Kamińska
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Jerzy Bański: Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
Marcin Mazur: Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Sciences, 00-818 Warsaw, Poland
Wioletta Kamińska: Faculty of Natural Sciences, Institute of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce, 25-346 Kielce, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: The COVID pandemic very quickly became the world’s most serious social and economic problem. This paper’s focus is on the spatial aspect of its spread, with the aims being to point to spatial conditioning underpinning development of the pandemic, and to identify and assess possible socio-economic features exerting an impact on that. Particular attention has been paid to the percentage of positive tests for the presence of the coronavirus, as well as mortality due to the disease it causes. The statistics used relate to 102 countries, with the research for each extending from the time first cases of COVID-19 were reported through to 18 November 2020. The focus of investigation has been the stochastic co-occurrence of both a morbidity index and a mortality index, with intentionally selected socio-economic variables. Results have then been summarized through the classification of countries in relation to the two indices. Highest values relate to Latin America. A significant co-occurrence of morbidity and mortality with GDP per capita has been identified, as values for the indices are found to be lower in wealthier countries. The basic conclusion is that the dependency of the pandemic on environmental and socio-economic conditioning became more complex and ambiguous, while also being displaced gradually as concrete political decisions came to be taken.

Keywords: geography of disease; COVID pandemic; socio-economic conditioning; country classification; correlation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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