New research indicates that populist nations experienced poorer outcomes during the Covid-19 pandemic.

• In 2020, a study compared the reactions of populist and non-populist governments to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Over 40 countries were analyzed, and the U.S., U.K., and India were classified as populist-led nations.
• Researchers discovered that in 2020, the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 was more than double in countries governed by populists compared to those led by non-populists.

A study has found that the risk of death from Covid-19 is significantly higher in countries with populist governments.

A study published in the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy found that populist governments have underperformed non-populist governments in managing the crisis.

In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, researchers examined excess deaths and discovered that, on average, populist-led countries had more than twice the excess mortality compared to non-populist-led countries.

A populist wave, characterized by radical and anti-establishment leaders, including former U.S. President Donald Trump, gained momentum in many countries prior to the pandemic.

The study defined populism as an ideology that divides society into two homogeneous groups, "the pure people" and "the corrupt elite," and suggests that politics should reflect the will of the people.

In 2020, 11 out of the 42 countries analyzed were classified as populist-governed, including the U.S., Brazil, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the U.K., India, Israel, Mexico, Poland, Slovakia, and Turkey. On the other hand, Japan, Canada, and Sweden were considered non-populist governed.

The analysis included countries from the OECD or BRICS nations, which are among the five major emerging economies.

Researchers discovered that for every 100 deaths in non-populist countries due to Covid, there were an additional 8 deaths.

In countries led by populists, Covid resulted in an extra 18 deaths for every 100 non-Covid deaths.

The study's authors linked the increase in COVID-19 cases in populist-governed countries to higher "citizen mobility," which was determined using Google data. They discovered that individuals' movement in populist-led countries was twice as high as in non-populist led countries.

The study found that populist governments were less likely to implement long-term, unpopular mitigation policies that restricted the public's ability to live relatively normal lives, even if it meant allowing the virus to spread.

The Kiel Institute discovered that populist governments' communications on Covid were aimed at minimizing the pandemic's severity and discrediting scientific findings. As a result, citizens in these countries were less likely to take the virus seriously and make choices to reduce the risk of infection.

The research paper stated that non-populist governments' policy response is influenced by the positive test ratio, or the spread of the virus, while populist governments are unconcerned with the spread and have a significantly lower policy response at high positive test ratios.

In June 2020, when the U.K. had the highest Covid death toll in Europe, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government's response, stating: "I take full responsibility for everything this Government has been doing in tackling coronavirus and I'm very proud of our record."

This month, the U.K. recorded the first 150,000 deaths in Europe due to the coronavirus.

Populists are the worst crisis managers in the Covid-19 pandemic and are responsible for many avoidable deaths in the countries they govern, according to Michael Bayerlein, a researcher on populism at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy and co-author of the report, who made this statement in a press release on Thursday.

The high excess mortality is due to too much mobility, which is caused by a lack of restrictions and anti-Covid-19 propaganda. The good news is that the clear link between mobility and death toll means people can protect themselves by voluntarily limiting their contacts during the pandemic.