Surviving together:social cohesion and Covid-19 infections and mortality across the world

Studies of the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Research therefore suggests a role for societal factors, in particular social capital. But its measures vary widely, sometimes including indicators that refer to politics or governance. We clearly distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that the first better captures the societal influence on the pandemic, by its concern with the common good and relationships between (rather than within) social groups. We analyze the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a large cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. Moreover, the underlying indicators enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, in particular for intergroup cohesion. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, in particular those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic.</p

Data note for cross-country data on social cohesion and Covid-19

This Data Note is a brief explanation of a dataset compiled for a study on the relationship between social cohesion and Covid-19. The innovative variable in this cross-country dataset is social cohesion, which appears as a consolidated index and as two sub-indices on, respectively, the interpersonal dimension and the intergroup dimension of social cohesion. This variable is available for 187 countries. We discuss the underlying indicators, provide their sources and a link to the full dataset. In addition, we provide information about the online, freely available database called Indices of Social Development of which the social cohesion sub-indices make part. With our explanation of the theoretical background, substance of the indicators, and construction of the three social cohesion indices, we hope to inspire researchers to use them in their own cross-country research.</p

Surviving Together: social cohesion and Covid-19 across the world

Studies on the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Studies therefore suggest a role for societal factors, in particular social capital and social cohesion as mitigating factors in control of epidemics. But the measures for these vary widely, which could include indicators that refer to politics, governance, or institutions. In this paper, we distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that, by its concern with the common good and relationships between social groups, the former captures the societal influence on the pandemic better than the latter. We test the hypotheses that countries with higher levels of social cohesion have lower levels of COVID-19 infection as well as death rates. We do this by analyzing the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. The three indices used allow for a much larger group of countries (between 116 and 138, depending on the model variation) to be included than in previous studies by others. Moreover, they enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, specifically for the intergroup level of social cohesion. The results are particularly strong for medium-income countries. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, especially those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic, irrespective of the quality of the health care system and government type and capacity. This implies that divisiveness has not only political costs but serious public health costs as well

Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World Database

This item contains the data for Pacheco-Miranda et al (2022). Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World. Critical Public Health. Details on the data used in the paper can be found in the Metadata file.  Studies of the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Research therefore suggests a role for societal factors, in particular social capital. But its measures vary widely, sometimes including indicators that refer to politics or governance. We clearly distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that the first better captures the societal influence on the pandemic, by its concern with the common good and relationships between (rather than within) social groups. We analyze the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a large cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. Moreover, the underlying indicators enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, in particular for intergroup cohesion. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, in particular those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic.</p

Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World Database

This item contains the data for Pacheco-Miranda et al (2022). Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World. Critical Public Health. Details on the data used in the paper can be found in the Metadata file. Studies of the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Research therefore suggests a role for societal factors, in particular social capital. But its measures vary widely, sometimes including indicators that refer to politics or governance. We clearly distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that the first better captures the societal influence on the pandemic, by its concern with the common good and relationships between (rather than within) social groups. We analyze the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a large cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. Moreover, the underlying indicators enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, in particular for intergroup cohesion. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, in particular those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic

Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World Database

This item contains the data for Pacheco-Miranda et al (2022). Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World. Critical Public Health. Details on the data used in the paper can be found in the Metadata file. Studies of the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Research therefore suggests a role for societal factors, in particular social capital. But its measures vary widely, sometimes including indicators that refer to politics or governance. We clearly distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that the first better captures the societal influence on the pandemic, by its concern with the common good and relationships between (rather than within) social groups. We analyze the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a large cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. Moreover, the underlying indicators enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, in particular for intergroup cohesion. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, in particular those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic

Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World Database

This item contains the data for Pacheco-Miranda et al (2022). Surviving Together: Social Cohesion and Covid-19 Infections and Mortality Across the World. Critical Public Health. Details on the data used in the paper can be found in the Metadata file. Studies of the determinants of the spread and mortality of COVID-19 indicate that the quality of health care systems and government type and capacity have a negligent role in explaining the variation of infection and death rates between countries. Research therefore suggests a role for societal factors, in particular social capital. But its measures vary widely, sometimes including indicators that refer to politics or governance. We clearly distinguish social cohesion from social capital and argue that the first better captures the societal influence on the pandemic, by its concern with the common good and relationships between (rather than within) social groups. We analyze the role of social cohesion in the spread and mortality of COVID-19 in a large cross-country analysis with a comprehensive index and two sub-indices of social cohesion. Moreover, the underlying indicators enable us to study the pathways through which social cohesion is likely to affect COVID-19 outcomes. Contrary to the recent empirical literature we find robust relationships, in particular for intergroup cohesion. Our findings suggest that more cohesive societies, in particular those with less divisiveness between social groups, may be better equipped to reduce the impact of a pandemic