The role of institutions and other major factors in explaining the global behaviour of COVID-19 mortality rate is investigated by utilising cross-sectional data of 124 countries. Results obtained support the view that countries with higher economic growth, higher health quality and larger size of the elderly population are more likely to have a higher rate of mortality caused by COVID-19. Furthermore, negative relationships between education, institutions and mortality rate are found. These results extend recent findings on the global behaviour of COVID-19 mortality rate by highlighting the importance of the quality of a country’s institutions, which is lacking in previous research. The article offers some recommendations based on the reported results.
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