A global panel database of pandemic policies (Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker)

TLDR

COVID‑19 has prompted unprecedented government action worldwide. The authors introduce the Oxford COVID‑19 Government Response Tracker, a continuously updated, comparable dataset of policy measures, and demonstrate its use in analyzing timing of policy adoption, easing, and re‑imposition alongside behavioural and epidemiological indicators. From 1 January 2020, OxCGRT records closure, containment, health, and economic policies for over 180 countries and subnational jurisdictions, coding 19 policy areas on ordinal or continuous scales to capture variation in response intensity. The database enables researchers and policymakers to examine how policy responses affect COVID‑19 case and death trajectories, as well as economic and social welfare outcomes.

Abstract

COVID-19 has prompted unprecedented government action around the world. We introduce the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT), a dataset that addresses the need for continuously updated, readily usable and comparable information on policy measures. From 1 January 2020, the data capture government policies related to closure and containment, health and economic policy for more than 180 countries, plus several countries' subnational jurisdictions. Policy responses are recorded on ordinal or continuous scales for 19 policy areas, capturing variation in degree of response. We present two motivating applications of the data, highlighting patterns in the timing of policy adoption and subsequent policy easing and reimposition, and illustrating how the data can be combined with behavioural and epidemiological indicators. This database enables researchers and policymakers to explore the empirical effects of policy responses on the spread of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as well as on economic and social welfare.