Abstract
This study examines features shared by societies built around petroleum and the impact of COVID-19. For our cross-sectional analysis, we use epidemiological data on COVID-19, country-level long-run oil production data, and data on petroleum geology for econometric identification. We first document that a country's long-run oil production is associated with significantly higher COVID-19 deaths. Exploring mechanisms, we find that women's election into political offices reduces the risk from COVID-19, but only in oil-poor countries. Furthermore, we find robust evidence that petroleum wealth reduces the percentage of women in parliament. These findings highlight the risk and plausible mechanisms of COVID-19 vulnerability in oil-exporting countries. Policymakers should be aware of these effects.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Economics and Politics |
Early online date | 4 Sept 2024 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 4 Sept 2024 |
Keywords
- COVID‐19
- demographic transformation
- patriarchy
- petroleum