The timing and aggressiveness of early government response to COVID-19: Political systems, societal culture, and more. (October 2021) - Nelson, Michael A.
Highlights: Factors driving the timing and government closure and containment responses to COVID-19 for 150 countries are examined. Authoritarian regimes tended have weaker policy responses initially but pursed more aggressive policies later on. Unitary regimes tended to have stronger policy measures early on relative to federalist states but relaxed them soonerUnitary regimes tended to have stronger policy measures early on after the pandemic hit relative to federalist states but relaxed them sooner. Responses of countries with greater freedom and those spending less on public health started slow but caught up later.The policy response of countries with greater freedom and those spending less on public health started slow but caught up in around three months. Policy implications are discussed as the how nations should prepare for future pandemics. Abstract: Factors that drove the early timing and strictness of government responses to COVID-19 for over 150 countries are examined using the daily Coronavirus Government Response Tracker data provided by the University of Oxford. Results show that authoritarian regimes tended to have an initial policy response somewhat weaker relative to democratic regimes at the early stages of the pandemic but pursed more aggressive containment policies over the latter part of the six-month period analyzed. Unitary regimes tended to have stronger policy measures in place early on relative to federalist states but relaxed these restrictions sooner. Countries with greater freedom (political rights and civil liberties) and those that spend less on public health also exhibited slower early policy responses, but caught up within three to four months after the pandemic reached their country. There is no evidence that women leaders, viewed as a whole, put in place more aggressive polices to combat the virus relative to their male counterparts. Nor is there any evidence that either island nations or countries that experienced the start of the pandemic later in the global wave pursued different policies that other nations. Policy implications are discussed as the how nations should prepare for future pandemics.