The institutional voids, sanitation and water deficits and the first covid-19 numbers in Brazil

Abstract

Purpose: The problem of this research was: What correlation between the deficit of basic sanitation and treated water in Brazil with the incidence and number of deaths caused by covid-19 disease? The aim of this article was to analyze the correlation between the number of cases in COVID-19 with the statistics of basic sanitation and treated water supply and institutional voids. Methodology: The research is descriptive and uses techniques of correlation statistical analysis of secondary data. Findings: Statistical calculations show a strong correlation of the variables.  The incidence of the disease caused by the new Coronavirus SARS-CoV2, COVID-19 is associated with a lower percentage of the population served by sewage network and water network. It was also demonstrated that the mortality of the disease is strongly associated with a lower percentage of the population served by sewage and water networks, thus indicating a relationship with the theory of Institutional Voids (North, 1990; Douglass & North, 1991; Khanna, Palepu, & Sinha, 2005; Khanna & Palepu, 2010; Rodrigues, 2013). Originality: It was observed that, in general, the highest number of deaths due to the disease related to the states of the federation/macro-regions with the lowest percentages of care to the aforementioned networks, with some exceptions. Soon it was possible to use the theory of Institutional Voids in the analysis of Brazil in the face of basic sanitation indicators, thus indicating the absence of a social public policy appropriate to the well-being of the population.