Knowledge and vaccination in COVID-19 management efficiency: a Global Malmquist-Luenberger index analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic posed severe challenges for governments, presenting unknown situations and requiring decisions to be made under unprecedented uncertainty. Scientists responded fast, developing vaccines to mitigate the effects of the disease and improve pandemic management. This study examines the evolution of healthcare efficiency during the first year of vaccination against COVID-19 and identifies the impact of related social, economic, and political factors. Using the Global Malmquist-Luenberger index, we measure the evolution of efficiency during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We employ a truncated-regression model estimated by maximum likelihood to determine the impact of various environmental factors on the change in efficiency. The results show that 70% of the countries in the sample, most of which had high vaccination coverage, improved their efficiency during the first year of COVID-19 vaccine deployment. A larger dependent population was associated with lower efficiency levels. Higher governance quality was positively and significantly related to efficiency. In contrast, GDP growth forecasts and government type had no statistically significant effects. The results confirm that homogeneous and complete vaccination in all countries improved the efficient management of this highly contagious disease. These findings can help policymakers analyse their management performance and better understand the factors that contribute to efficient management during pandemics.