Efficiency of government policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We introduce country-month indices of efficiency of government policy in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Our indices cover 81 countries and the period from May 2020 to November 2021. Our framework assumes that governments impose stringent policies (listed in the Oxford COVID-19 Containment and Health Index) with the single goal of saving lives. We find that positive and significant correlates of our new indices are institutions, democratic principles, political stability, trust, high public spending in health, female participation in the workplace, and economic equality. Within the efficient jurisdictions, the most efficient ones are those with cultural characteristics of high patience.

Cities in a pandemic: Evidence from China.

This paper studies the impact of urban density, city government efficiency, and medical resources on COVID-19 infection and death outcomes in China. We adopt a simultaneous spatial dynamic panel data model to account for (i) the simultaneity of infection and death outcomes, (ii) the spatial pattern of the transmission, (iii) the intertemporal dynamics of the disease, and (iv) the unobserved city-specific and time-specific effects. We find that, while population density increases the level of infections, government efficiency significantly mitigates the negative impact of urban density. We also find that the availability of medical resources improves public health outcomes conditional on lagged infections. Moreover, there exists significant heterogeneity at different phases of the epidemiological cycle.

The dark side of globalization: Evidence from the impact of COVID-19 on multinational companies.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to economic and health crises ("twin crises") worldwide. Using a sample of firms from 73 countries over the period January to December 2020, we examine stock price reactions of multinational corporations (MNCs) and purely domestic companies (DCs) to the crisis. We find that, on average, MNCs suffer a significantly larger decline in firm value relative to DCs during the stock market crisis caused by the pandemic with notable heterogeneity in this underperformance across both industry and region. The evidence of MNC underperformance is robust to using abnormal returns, an alternative crisis window, a matched sample that accounts for differences in characteristics between MNCs and DCs, alternative model specifications, and alternative proxies for multinationality. Further analysis on the effect of government responses on the valuation gap suggests that stringent government responses exacerbate MNCs' underperformance. Finally, we show that a stronger financial system mitigates negative crisis returns, especially under stringent government responses, while real factors, such as the firm's supply chain, investments in human capital, research and development, exacerbate negative crisis returns. Our findings have important implications for managers of MNCs and government policymakers alike and contribute to studies on the international diversification-performance relation by demonstrating a dark side of globalization during a tail-risk event.

La pandémie de COVID-19 a entraîné la double crise économique et sanitaire (Twin crises) dans le monde entier. À l'aide d'un échantillon d'entreprises de 73 pays sur la période de janvier à décembre 2020, nous examinons les réactions des cours boursiers des entreprises multinationales (Multinational Corporations - MNCs) et domestiques (Domestic Companies - DCs) à la crise. Nous constatons qu'en moyenne, les MNCs subissent une baisse de la valeur de l'entreprise beaucoup plus importante que les DCs pendant la crise boursière provoquée par la pandémie, et que cette sous-performance des MNCs se caractérise par une hétérogénéité notable à travers les secteurs et les régions. Cette sous-performance des MNCs est également confirmée par nos tests de robustesse utilisant les rendements anormaux, une fenêtre de crise alternative, un échantillon apparié tenant compte des différences en matière de caractéristiques entre les MNCs et les DCs, des spécifications de modèle alternatives, ainsi que diverses mesures de l'internationalisation. Une analyse plus poussée de l'impact des mesures gouvernementales sur l'écart de valorisation suggère que les mesures gouvernementales strictes aggravent la sous-performance des MNCs. Enfin, nous démontrons qu'un système financier plus solide atténue les retours négatifs de la crise, en particulier en cas de réponses gouvernementales strictes, tandis que les facteurs réels, tels que la chaîne d'approvisionnement de l'entreprise, les investissements dans le capital humain, la recherche et le développement, les intensifient. Nos résultats apportent des implications importantes aux managers des MNCs et aux responsables politiques gouvernementaux, et contribuent aux recherches portées sur la relation diversification internationale-performance en démontrant le côté sombre de la globalisation durant un événement à risque extrême.

La pandemia del COVID-19 ha llevado a crisis económicas y sanitarias ("crisis gemelas") en todo el mundo. Utilizando una muestra de empresas de 73 países durante el período comprendido entre enero y diciembre de 2020, examinamos las reacciones del precio de las acciones de las empresas multinacionales (EMN) y de las empresas puramente nacionales (ED) ante la crisis. Encontramos que, en promedio, las empresas multinacionales sufren un descenso del valor de la empresa significativamente mayor que las empresas puramente nacionales durante la crisis bursátil causada por la pandemia, con una notable heterogeneidad en este bajo desempeño tanto por industria como por región. La evidencia del bajo desempeño de las empresas multinacionales es robusta cuando se utilizan rendimientos anormales, una ventana de crisis alternativa, una muestra emparejada que da cuenta de las diferencias en las características entre las empresas multinacionales y las empresas puramente nacionales, especificaciones de modelos alternativos y proxies para multinacionalidad. Análisis adicionales sobre el efecto de las respuestas gubernamentales en la brecha de valoración sugieren que las respuestas gubernamentales estrictas exacerban el bajo rendimiento de las empresas multinacionales. Por último, mostramos que un sistema financiero más fuerte mitiga los rendimientos negativos de la crisis, especialmente bajo respuestas gubernamentales estrictas, mientras que los factores reales, como la cadena de suministro de la empresa, las inversiones en capital humano, la investigación y el desarrollo, exacerban los rendimientos negativos de la crisis. Nuestros hallazgos tienen importantes implicaciones tanto para los directivos de las empresas multinacionales como para los formuladores de las políticas gubernamentales y contribuyen a los estudios sobre la relación entre diversificación internacional y rendimiento al demostrar un lado oscuro de la globalización durante un evento de riesgo de cola.

A pandemia do COVID-19 gerou crises econômicas e de saúde ("crises gêmeas") em todo o mundo. Usando uma amostra de empresas de 73 países no período de janeiro a dezembro de 2020, examinamos reações dos preços de ações de corporações multinacionais (MNCs) e empresas puramente domésticas (DCs) à crise. Descobrimos que, em média, MNCs sofrem um declínio significativamente maior no valor da empresa em relação a DCs durante a crise do mercado de ações causada pela pandemia, com notável heterogeneidade nesse desempenho inferior tanto no setor quanto na região. A evidência do baixo desempenho de MNCs é robusta ao uso de retornos anormais, uma janela de crise alternativa, uma amostra pareada que leva em consideração diferenças nas características entre MNCs e DCs, especificações alternativas de modelos e proxies para multinacionalidade. Análises adicionais sobre o efeito das respostas do governo na diferença de valoração sugerem que respostas rigorosas do governo agravam o desempenho inferior de MNCs. Finalmente, mostramos que um sistema financeiro mais forte reduz retornos negativos de crise, especialmente sob respostas governamentais rigorosas, enquanto fatores reais, como a cadeia de suprimentos da empresa, investimentos em capital humano, pesquisa e desenvolvimento, agravam retornos negativos de crise. Nossas descobertas têm implicações importantes tanto para gerentes de MNCs quanto formuladores de políticas governamentais e contribuem para estudos sobre a relação entre diversificação internacional -desempenho, demonstrando um lado sombrio da globalização durante um evento de pequena probabilidade de risco.

How Does Government Efficiency Affect Health Outcomes? The Empirical Evidence from 156 Countries.

This paper uses the unbalanced panel data of 156 countries during the period of 2002 to 2018 to explore the possible impact of government efficiency on health outcomes. Firstly, we used the fixed-effect model to examine the relationship between government efficiency and health outcomes and found that the increase in government efficiency can significantly improve health outcomes. Then, a series of robustness checks were carried out, which confirmed the reliability of the above result. Thirdly, this paper conducted a heterogeneity analysis from the perspective of life cycle. Fourthly, this paper investigated the mechanisms of the impact of government efficiency on health outcomes from the perspectives of economic growth, health innovation, education and corruption control. Finally, this paper studied the moderating effects of the ruling party's ideology and democracy on the relationship between government efficiency and health outcomes. The findings of this study provide some references for governments to improve health outcomes.