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A Matter of Trust? Political Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic

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  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan
  • Hans Philipp Hofmann

Abstract

There is significant cross-country variation in Covid-19 fatalities worldwide. In this study, we analyze the relationship between political trust and fatalities of the Covid-19 pandemic. By performing a cross-country analysis and controlling for other determinants, we find that government trust is negatively associated with Covid-19 cases and deaths. Additionally, our findings suggest that risk communication, in the form of public information campaigns, only decreased Covid-19 cases and deaths in countries with high trust in government. We also find evidence that political trust decreases the risk of removing lockdown policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hans Philipp Hofmann, 2021. "A Matter of Trust? Political Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic," CESifo Working Paper Series 9121, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_9121
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    Cited by:

    1. Luisa Loiacono & Riccardo Puglisi & Leonzio Rizzo & Riccardo Secomandi, 2021. "Pandemic perception and regulation effectiveness: Evidence from the COVID-19," Working papers 104, Società Italiana di Economia Pubblica.
    2. Loiacono, Luisa & Puglisi, Riccardo & Rizzo, Leonzio & Secomandi, Riccardo, 2022. "Pandemic knowledge and regulation effectiveness: Evidence from COVID-19," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(3), pages 768-783.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Covid-19; pandemic; trust; lockdown; cross-country regression; voluntary compliance;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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