COVID-19, Policies, Socio-Economic and Health Effects in Southern European Countries

This essay aims to make a brief comparative analysis of the Southern European countries of Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal with regard to the socio-economic and health effects caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and by the control and mitigation policies implemented by their respective governments. It presents a brief contextualization of the structural characteristics of these socio-economic effects and propagation routes of these effects of COVID‑19. It also describes some governmental steps toward mitigation along with control measures during and after the pandemic. The first-order effects can be reflected in an excess mortality rate; for the second-order effects the focus is on young people and non‑COVID people; and, finally, third-order effects refer to macroeconomic indicators, such as household consumption and public debt.