Free to Die: Economic Freedoms and Influenza Mortality

Marta Marson (), Matteo Migheli () and Donatella Saccone ()
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Donatella Saccone: University of Turin, http://www.est.unito.it/

Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers from University of Turin

Abstract: Seasonal influenzas are annually responsible for tens of thousands of deaths worldwide, often because of insufficient care which, in turn, may depend on orientations of economic policy. Yet, the empirical evidence on the relations that exist between policies based on different degrees of economic liberalism and flu mortality is still scarce. This paper contributes to filling the gap by proposing an empirical investigation into the effects of various dimensions of liberalism, proxied by the different components of the Fraser Index of Economic Freedom, on deaths from seasonal influenzas in a sample of 38 OECD countries observed from 1970 to 2018. A dynamic panel System-GMM estimator is used to alleviate endogeneity concerns. Findings show that: a) not every component of economic freedom has an effect on flu mortality; b) more economic freedom not always means less (or more) deaths from flu. In particular, stronger protection of property rights and lower government consumption are associated with higher flu mortality, which is instead lower when people and capital are freer to move. Such results give rise to policy considerations and contribute to inform policymakers about which actions can limit the mortality of a globally widespread disease like flu.

Pages: pages 29
Date: 2022-09
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