Discussion paper
DP14519 Intergenerational ties and case fatality rates: A cross-country analysis
COVID-19 is spreading and has reached the state of a worldwide pandemic and health
systems are or will be tested in how they can deal with it. So far, during this early
phase of the pandemic, outcomes in terms of case-fatality rates (CFR) differ widely
across countries. We explore how differences in living arrangements of generations
within families contribute to the cross country differences. We document a strong
positive correlation between countries’ CFRs and the share of working-age families
living with their parents. This suggest that policy needs to focus on inter-generational
social distance when combating this pandemic.
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