Which Factors Influence the Number of COVID-19 Cases and Deaths in the European Union?

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the whole year of 2020, and it is still a determinative factor in everyday decisions. The schools and workplaces - where possible - moved to people's homes, changing the way humans used to operate in the last century. It affects almost every country on Earth, while this is only the first wave of the pandemic. Not even the researchers know when it will end, what the solution will be, or whether a vaccine will be found. The research focuses on this pandemic, limited to the European Union's territory, but also includes the following four countries: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The countries in this region had different approaches and results regarding the coronavirus. This paper aims to define the most critical social and economic determinants (e.g., GDP, Healthcare expenditure, median age, Hofstede's dimensions), which have the highest impact on the number of confirmed COVID-19 Cases and Deaths. The paper highlights these factors by using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model, creating the equations that define the number of cases and deaths.

KEYWORDS: COVID-19, OLS regression, European Union, Healthcare, Hofstede