Observational study finds higher COVID-19 cases in areas with lower economic complexity, suggesting integrated strategies may be needed.
The present study investigates the association between the economic complexity of local authorities in the UK and their COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates. We find that localities with a lower economic complexity index (ECI) registered significantly higher numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, controlling for a range of confounders. This result indicates that local economic structures in the UK shape people’s pandemic (and public health) experiences. This finding calls for the integration of public health and economic strategies in each locality when planning economic recovery in the context of aims to reduce spatial inequalities.
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Morasae et al. (2021) studied this question.
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