Pandemic Governance Requires Understanding Socioeconomic Variation in Government and Citizen Responses to COVID-19

20 Pages Posted: 5 Jul 2020

See all articles by Thomas Hale

Thomas Hale

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government

Noam Angrist

University of Oxford; Youth Impact

Beatriz Kira

University College London - Department of Political Science

Rafael Goldszmidt

Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV)

Anna Petherick

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government

Toby Phillips

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government

Date Written: June 2020

Abstract

As governments respond to COVID-19 with drastic measures to curb transmission, understanding how socio-economic and political factors condition both government and citizen responses is critical. Analysis of over 160 countries shows that governments adopted restrictive measures at the same moment, in contrast to World Health Organization advice recommending that measures be phased in as the disease spread. While this herd behavior makes it difficult to identify straightforward relationships between country characteristics, such as the nature of the political system, and the speed and degree of response, low-income countries seem to differ sharply from wealthier nations in both the speed at which they adopt restrictive measures and the effect such measures have on citizens’ mobility. Going forward, further research into socio-economic and political factors will be needed to tailor public health advice.

Keywords: governance, COVID-19, World Health Organization, pandemic

Suggested Citation

Hale, Thomas and Angrist, Noam and Angrist, Noam and Kira, Beatriz and Goldszmidt, Rafael and Petherick, Anna and Phillips, Toby, Pandemic Governance Requires Understanding Socioeconomic Variation in Government and Citizen Responses to COVID-19 (June 2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3641927

Thomas Hale (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government ( email )

10 Merton St
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4JJ
United Kingdom

Noam Angrist

University of Oxford ( email )

Mansfield Road
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4AU
United Kingdom

Youth Impact ( email )

Gaborone
Botswana

Beatriz Kira

University College London - Department of Political Science ( email )

29/30 Tavistock Square
London, WC1H 9QU
United Kingdom

Rafael Goldszmidt

Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV) ( email )

Rio de Janeiro
Brazil

Anna Petherick

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government ( email )

10 Merton St
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 4JJ
United Kingdom

Toby Phillips

University of Oxford - Blavatnik School of Government ( email )

Radcliffe Observatory Quarter
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX2 6GG
United Kingdom

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