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Do Governors Lead or Follow? Timing of Stay-at-Home Orders

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  • Bryan C. McCannon

    (West Virginia University)

Abstract

I investigate the timing of the Stay-at-Home orders. I use daily Google search data to track early interest in the novel Coronavirus pandemic. I ask whether governors responded to heightened concern (i.e., following) or if their decisions are independent of citizen sentiment (i.e., leading). I show that Stay-at-Home orders were initiated sooner in states that saw early, heightened in the virus. This suggests that governors follow voters’ opinions, preferences, and sentiments. Exploring potential heterogeneous effects, there is not a difference in the size of this effect between Republican and Democrat governors, nor is there a difference between those up for re-election in 2020 and those not. I do find that governor responsiveness is related to the state’s economic freedom and the governor’s approval rating just before the pandemic. In a novel environment without precedence, governors in the USA set policy in accord with voter preferences.

Suggested Citation

  • Bryan C. McCannon, 2021. "Do Governors Lead or Follow? Timing of Stay-at-Home Orders," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 506-518, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:easeco:v:47:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1057_s41302-021-00204-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41302-021-00204-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Allcott, Hunt & Boxell, Levi & Conway, Jacob & Gentzkow, Matthew & Thaler, Michael & Yang, David, 2020. "Polarization and public health: Partisan differences in social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
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    Cited by:

    1. Elhadad, Sharon & Sommer, Udi, 2022. "Policy diffusion in federal systems during a state of emergency: diffusion of COVID-19 statewide lockdown policies across the United States," Studia z Polityki Publicznej / Public Policy Studies, Warsaw School of Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 1-28, May.
    2. Alexandre Olbrecht, 2021. "Human Suffering and Natural Experiments: How Empirical Economics can unmask the devastation of Covid-19," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 47(4), pages 461-463, October.
    3. Vincent Miozzi & Benjamin Powell, 2023. "The pre-pandemic political economy determinants of lockdown severity," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 197(1), pages 167-183, October.
    4. Vincent J. Miozzi & Benjamin Powell, 2023. "US state‐level economic freedom during the COVID‐19 pandemic," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 82(4), pages 349-364, July.
    5. Bryan C. McCannon & Mark Wilson, 2023. "Mask Mandates Increased COVID-19 Deaths in Kansas," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 38(Winter 20), pages 29-54.
    6. Vincent Miozzi & Benjamin Powell, 2024. "The Evolution of US State Economic Freedom during the Pandemic’s Second Year," Journal of Private Enterprise, The Association of Private Enterprise Education, vol. 39(Summer 20), pages 9-29.

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