A Lockdown a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: The Effectiveness of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions during the Covid-19 Pandemic

Countries have employed a variety of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in order to curtail the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the success of individual measures in reducing the number of infections remains controversial. This paper exploits a panel data set of 182 countries to estimate the effects of 14 NPIs on the spread of the disease in 2020. The employed fixed effects estimation greatly reduces endogeneity concerns. While almost all measures had a dampening effect on the reproduction rate of the virus, public information campaigns and school closings were most effective, followed by testing policies and contact tracing. The obligation to wear face masks was more effective during the second wave. Other measures, in contrast, were less successful in the second half of 2020.