Estimating Impact of Austerity policies in COVID-19 fatality rates: Examining the dynamics of economic policy and Case Fatality Rates (CFR) of COVID-19 in OECD countries

The paper will attempt to estimate factors which determine the variability of case fatality rates of COVID-19 across OECD countries in the recent time. The objective of the paper is to estimate the impact of government health policies on fatality rates (Case fatality rates) of COVID-19 in_OECD countries while controlling for other demographic and economic characteristics. The analysis is done using non-parametric regression method, i.e. Quantile regression. The result from quantile regression analysis shows that a policy of Austerity (health expenditure cuts) significantly increases the mortality rates of COVID-19 in OECD countries. The policy implication of the study is the need for a robust public-funded health system with wider accessibility to deal with major public health crisis like COVID-19 pandemic.