Lockdown Effects on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic – The Evidence from Norway

Abstract: The first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China and has become a public health emergency of international concern. Several countries have issued comprehensive social distancing policies responses to the pandemic. This study was performed in an attempt to understand the impact of a lockdown on COVID-19 cases through a case study in Scandinavia. A validated database was used to originate data related to measurements and a difference-in-differences design was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Norway’s lockdown. Our results show that a lockdown reduced the number of infected cases by 43 percent and it takes at least three weeks for the effect of the policy to appear. Further, Sweden, the state that opted against a lockdown seems to be more affected by the pandemic in terms of economic development. In general, this study focused on the short-term public health benefits of stringent anti-contagion policies. Future research is suggested to estimate the long-run effect of measures due to changes in perception of COVID-19 or other factors.