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. 2022 Dec;126(12):1269-1276.
doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.10.005. Epub 2022 Oct 13.

Excess mortality and protected areas during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Leonardo Becchetti  1 , Gianluigi Conzo  1 , Pierluigi Conzo  2 , Francesco Salustri  3
Affiliations

Excess mortality and protected areas during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from Italian municipalities

Leonardo Becchetti et al. Health Policy. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

There is widespread debate on the drivers of heterogeneity of adverse COVID-19 pandemic outcomes and, more specifically, on the role played by context-specific factors. We contribute to this literature by testing the role of environmental factors as measured by environmentally protected areas. We test our research hypothesis by showing that the difference between the number of daily deaths per 1,000 inhabitants in 2020 and the 2018-19 average during the pandemic period is significantly lower in Italian municipalities located in environmentally protected areas such as national parks, regional parks, or Environmentally Protected Zones. After controlling for fixed effects and various concurring factors, municipalities with higher share of environmentally protected areas show significantly lower mortality during the pandemic than municipalities that do not benefit from such environmental amenities.

Keywords: COVID-19; Mortality; Pollution; Protected areas.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest None.

Figures

Figs 1
Fig. 1
A-1.D: geographical distribution of excess deaths and park municipalities, legend: A: geographical distribution of excess deaths, i.e., the difference between the number of daily deceases per 1000 inhabitants in 2020 and the 2018–19 average at municipality level; B: municipalities in protected areas (both regional and national parks); C: municipalities in national parks; D: municipalities in EEZ.
Figs 2
Fig. 2
A-2.D: Dynamics of the one-year difference in daily deaths per 100,000 inhabitants between park and non-park municipalities, Legend: A: Daily deaths between park and non-park areas in 2018–19 and 2020; B: Deaths difference between all parks and non-park areas; C: Deaths difference between national park and non-park areas; D: Deaths difference between EEZ and non-park areas.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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