I'm not sure if we will be able to separate the confounding factors such as economic impact at the population level. Do you have an idea how this can be done?
I have seen a few studies using this method to look at excess mortality during the great recession [1],[2], but there wasn't a pandemic at the same time.
Deaths directly from an infectious agent, or due to society-wide institutional impacts ... are still deaths, and would have, at least in a statistical sense, have been avoided without the epidemic. Specific mechanism differs, but the ultimate avoidance measure is the same: avoid pandemic situations, as a society.
I have seen a few studies using this method to look at excess mortality during the great recession [1],[2], but there wasn't a pandemic at the same time.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6...
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3070776/