scholarly journals Containment, Health, and Social Policies in the Time of COVID-19 – Patterns and Determinants of Initial Reponses from Spring 2020 Across 120 Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Shu-Huah Wang ◽  
Chenhong Peng ◽  
Hao Luo ◽  
Jinbao Zhang ◽  
Hans Oh
Keyword(s):  
Political Regime ◽  
Social Policies ◽  
Multinomial Regression ◽  
Social Unrest ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Economic Downturns ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Lower Income Countries

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered an unprecedented number of policy responses around the world across multiple policy domains. While governments have combined containment and health policies with social policies (CHSP) during the initial phase of the pandemic in various ways, current literature offers little knowledge of the patterns of these combinations and their determinants and outcomes. This paper fills this gap by investigating CHSP combinations across more than 120 countries. We further examined whether the CHSP policy response was determined by political regimes or compensation hypotheses—serving the purposes of responding to pre-existing economic downturns, inequality, or social unrest. We also investigated the associations between CHSP responses and mobility, virus infection, and unemployment. Using policy data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, results from sequence analysis indicated that governments’ CHSP responses could be clustered into five categories: high social policies (SP), middle SP, containment and health (CH) leading SP, low SP, and gradual high SP. We used multinomial regression models to investigate determinants of CHSP responses. We found that CHSP policy responses did not differ by political regime, and CHSP combinations were not driven by compensation hypotheses. Instead, GDP per capita and government effectiveness were the key drivers for high levels of policy responses. We also found that low SP responses were associated with fewer mobility changes. Taken together, our findings suggest that lower income countries required more support and resources in order for them to adopt necessary CH and SP responses.

scholarly journals Government Effectiveness and the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3042
Author(s):  
Carolyn Chisadza ◽  
Matthew Clance ◽  
Rangan Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Linear Association ◽  
Non Linear

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to derail progress achieved in sustainable development. This study investigates the effectiveness of government policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the number of deaths. Using the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) dataset for a global sample of countries between March and September 2020, we find a non-linear association between government response indices and the number of deaths. Less stringent interventions increase the number of deaths, whereas more severe responses to the pandemic can lower fatalities. The outcomes are similar for a sample of countries disaggregated by regions. These findings can be informative for policymakers in their efforts to mitigate the spread of the virus and save lives.

scholarly journals How does globalization affect COVID-19 responses?

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve J. Bickley ◽  
Ho Fai Chan ◽  
Ahmed Skali ◽  
David Stadelmann ◽  
Benno Torgler
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
International Travel ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Government Effectiveness ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Travel Restrictions ◽  
High Government

Abstract Background The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vast differences in approaches to the control and containment of coronavirus across the world and has demonstrated the varied success of such approaches in minimizing the transmission of coronavirus. While previous studies have demonstrated high predictive power of incorporating air travel data and governmental policy responses in global disease transmission modelling, factors influencing the decision to implement travel and border restriction policies have attracted relatively less attention. This paper examines the role of globalization on the pace of adoption of international travel-related non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the coronavirus pandemic. This study aims to offer advice on how to improve the global planning, preparation, and coordination of actions and policy responses during future infectious disease outbreaks with empirical evidence. Methods and data We analyzed data on international travel restrictions in response to COVID-19 of 185 countries from January to October 2020. We applied time-to-event analysis to examine the relationship between globalization and the timing of travel restrictions implementation. Results The results of our survival analysis suggest that, in general, more globalized countries, accounting for the country-specific timing of the virus outbreak and other factors, are more likely to adopt international travel restrictions policies. However, countries with high government effectiveness and globalization were more cautious in implementing travel restrictions, particularly if through formal political and trade policy integration. This finding is supported by a placebo analysis of domestic NPIs, where such a relationship is absent. Additionally, we find that globalized countries with high state capacity are more likely to have higher numbers of confirmed cases by the time a first restriction policy measure was taken. Conclusions The findings highlight the dynamic relationship between globalization and protectionism when governments respond to significant global events such as a public health crisis. We suggest that the observed caution of policy implementation by countries with high government efficiency and globalization is a by-product of commitment to existing trade agreements, a greater desire to ‘learn from others’ and also perhaps of ‘confidence’ in a government’s ability to deal with a pandemic through its health system and state capacity. Our results suggest further research is warranted to explore whether global infectious disease forecasting could be improved by including the globalization index and in particular, the de jure economic and political, and de facto social dimensions of globalization, while accounting for the mediating role of government effectiveness. By acting as proxies for a countries’ likelihood and speed of implementation for international travel restriction policies, such measures may predict the likely time delays in disease emergence and transmission across national borders.

scholarly journals When character forges the crisis: Personality traits of world leaders and differential policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Medeiros ◽  
Alessandro Nai ◽  
Ayşegül Erman ◽  
Elizabeth Young
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Rapid Response ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Heads Of Government ◽  
Do So

Abstract The rapidly growing scholarship on the COVID-19 crisis has focused on a variety of macro-level factors to understand government policy responses. The current study addresses an important gap in this line of research by evaluating the extent to which government leaders’ personality traits have led to divergent policy responses during the pandemic. To do so, we use data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker initiative (OxCGRT) to measure differences in both the speed and magnitude of these responses across countries and NEGex, a dataset that maps the personality traits of current heads of government (presidents or prime ministers) in 61 countries. Our results show that personality matters. We find that world leaders scoring high on “plasticity” (extraversion, openness) provide a stronger overall response, as well as a more rapid response in terms of financial relief. Whereas, leaders scoring high on “stability” (conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability) offer both a quicker and stronger financial relief response. Our findings underscore the need to account for the personality of decision-makers when exploring policy decisions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during other crisis situations.

scholarly journals Australia Government Response to COVID-19: Coordination and the Effectivity of Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Fauziah Rohmatika Mayangsari
Keyword(s):  
Government Policy ◽  
National Health System ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
The Public ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
The World ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
The Government

Abstrak Artikel ini mendeskripsikan respon pemerintah Australia terhadap pandemi COVID-19. ini Respon kebijakan pemerintah yang menjadi fokus adalah pengelolaan risiko di tiga sektor utama: kesehatan masyarakat, sistem kesehatan nasional, dan keberlangsungan perekonomian negara. Artikel ini kemudian menjelaskan bagaimana Australia dianggap sebagai salah satu contoh negara yang sukses dalam menangani pandemi COVID-19. Kebijakan untuk menutup perbatasan sejak dini dan penyusunan kebijakan terkoordinasi yang berdasar saran para ahli merupakan beberapa kunci kesuksesan Australia. Selain itu, kepatuhan masyarakat turut mendukung keberhasilan implementasi dari kebijakan pemerintahan. Namun, kepatuhan penduduk Australia merupakan hasil dari rasa percaya terhadap kemampuan pemerintah untuk menangani krisis. Berbagai faktor tersebut membuat Australia berhasil melandaikan kurva COVID-19 dalam waktu kurang dari enam bulan. Walaupun masih cukup dini untuk mengidentifikasi pelajaran yang bisa diambil dari Australia, namun dapat dikatakan bahwa di tengah pandemi dan krisis, pemerintah harus bekerja bersama dengan masyarakat agar kebijakan yang telah disusun dapat diimplementasikan dengan baik.   Kata-kata kunci: COVID-19; respon pandemi; Australia This article describes the Australian Government’s responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The focus is on the policy responses to mitigate the risk in three main sectors: people’s health, national health system, and economic livelihoods. It discusses how Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic is among the few successful cases in the world. Australia’s early border closure and coordinated policy measures with the experts are among the key behind Australia’s success. Besides, Australian public compliance further supports the implementation of government policy. Such compliance is the result of people’s trust in the Government’s capability to tackle the crisis. As a consequence, Australia has succeeded in flattening the curve within less than six months. Although it is relatively early to identify the lessons learned from Australia, it is safe to say that during pandemic and crisis, in order to make the policy works, the Government needs to work together with the public. Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic response; Australia 

scholarly journals When character forges the crisis: Personality traits of world leaders and differential policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Medeiros ◽  
Alessandro Nai ◽  
Ayşegül Erman ◽  
Elizabeth Young
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Emotional Stability ◽  
Rapid Response ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Prime Ministers ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Heads Of Government ◽  
Do So

Abstract The rapidly growing scholarship on the COVID-19 crisis has focused on a variety of macro-level factors to understand government policy responses. The current study addresses an important gap in this line of research by evaluating the extent to which government leaders’ personality traits have led to divergent policy responses during the pandemic. To do so, we use data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker initiative to measure differences in both the speed and magnitude of these responses across countries and NEGex, a dataset that maps the personality traits of current heads of government (presidents or prime ministers) in 61 countries. Our results show that personality matters. We find that world leaders scoring high on “plasticity” (extraversion, openness) provide a stronger overall response, as well as a more rapid response in terms of financial relief. Whereas, leaders scoring high on “stability” (conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability) offer both a quicker and stronger financial relief response. Our findings underscore the need to account for the personality of decision-makers when exploring policy decisions taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as during other crisis situations.

scholarly journals Population growth and mobility in Australia: implications for housing and urban development policies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amity James ◽  
Steven Rowley ◽  
Amanda Davies ◽  
Rachel Ong ViforJ ◽  
Ranjodh Singh
Keyword(s):  
Population Growth ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Development Policy ◽  
Population Mobility ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Actual Growth ◽  
Key Drivers ◽  
Housing And Urban Development ◽  
Urban Development Policy

This research tracks Australia’s population growth over the period 2006–16 to examine how actual growth differed from projected growth. It also examined key drivers of population mobility in Australia to inform future urban development policy responses to demands on infrastructure and housing.

scholarly journals Bailout or bust? Government evaluations in the wake of a bailout

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Gahner Larsen ◽  
Robert Klemmensen ◽  
Michael Baggesen Klitgaard
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Public Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Economic Downturns ◽  
History Of ◽  
Nationally Representative

AbstractGovernments are often punished for negative events such as economic downturns and financial shocks. However, governments can address such shocks with salient policy responses that might mitigate public punishment. We use three high-quality nationally representative surveys collected around a key event in the history of the Dutch economy, namely the outbreak of the financial crisis in 2008, to examine how voters responded to a salient government bailout. The results illustrate that governments can get substantial credit for pursuing a bailout in the midst of a financial crisis. Future research should take salient policy responses into account to fully understand the public response to the outbreak of financial and economic crises.

scholarly journals Effects of Policy Responses to the Spread of Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Helen Briola ◽  
Konstantina Briola
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Correlation Coefficient ◽  
P Value ◽  
Direct Impact ◽  
Spearman Correlation ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
The World ◽  
Kendall Correlation ◽  
Almost All

Covid-19 is a new invisible threat that has affected almost all countries of the world. In this paper we study the effects of policy responses to the spread of coronavirus pandemic. For this purpose, we utilized the dataset of Oxford Coronavirus Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) and we examined the correlation of policies with the number of daily coronavirus cases in five countries (Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom). In order to achieve that, we calculated Kendall Correlation Coefficient and Spearman Correlation Coefficient as well as p-value for the statistical importance of our data. Our results indicate that the policies have a direct impact on the spread of Covid-19.

scholarly journals Pandemic Performance: Women Leaders in the COVID-19 Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 960-967 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea S. Aldrich ◽  
Nicholas J. Lotito
Keyword(s):  
Women Leaders ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Information Campaigns ◽  
Government Response ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Better Than

AbstractMedia outlets have reported that women leaders around the globe are managing the COVID-19 crisis better than their male counterparts, responding faster and communicating better about pandemic policies. In this article, we examine empirical data on the timing of policy responses from the Coronavirus Government Response Tracker to determine whether and how countries led by women reacted differently to the pandemic. Exploring the relationship between the gender of leaders and legislators and the timing of stay-at-home orders, school closures, and coordinated public information campaigns, we find no statistical evidence supporting popular claims in the media. However, we find some evidence that the level of gender equality in legislatures is related to school closures, a policy with clear gendered consequences. These conclusions are an important first step in understanding the potentially gendered nature of the crisis response and identifying new avenues for research.

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