EVALUATING COUNTRIES’ EFFICIENCIES AGAINST COVID-19 CONCERNING THEIR STRUCTURAL AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS

ABSTRACT The coronavirus (COVID-19) after first confirmation in China in 2019, has spread rapidly and caused significant damage all over the world. World countries have struggled with this situation using various policy tools. However, due to the socio-economic and cultural differences some countries had better performance, than the others. In this context, this study evaluates the management efficiencies and performances of countries against pandemic between the periods of February, 20, 2020 and February, 20, 2022 (before spread of vaccination). At the same time, from the data, some clues about the linkage between the performances and the structural characteristics (culture and socio-economic properties) of the countries tried to be find out. For this aim, first efficiency analysis is implemented via Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. Via DEA analyses sources of inefficiency and benchmarks, thereby potentially yield managerial insights into organizational improvements, have been find out. Therefore, the key factors of the efficiency, peer countries for inefficient ones (and the suitable way to be efficient for them) have been also determined. Moreover, in order to observe the links between efficiency scores and structural characteristics of the countries more accurately, a clustering analysis technique (Ward’s Method) has been used. The results mainly imply that; structurally developed (which have higher income and better health infrastructure) and culturally secular / rational countries have been efficient in the struggle against pandemic.