Are COVID-19 spread and mortality related to different countries’ government mobility restriction policies, democratic institutions, and cultural norms? Leveraging data from 140 countries, we find that policy, institutions, and vulnerabilities interact to determine pandemic spread and mortality. A delay in restricting international mobility increases pandemic mortality. Combining vulnerabilities with a delay in domestic mobility restrictions increases mortality.

This paper uses data from an employee tracking survey in China for about 6000 incumbent workers to document their dynamic labor market outcomes throughout the year 2020. I find that the employment situation worsened sharply during the lockdown period and then recovered gradually, showing a “V” shaped pattern. However, by the end of November 2020, about 4.4 per cent of 2019 incumbent workers were still unemployed, with few social protections.