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Be kind or take it on the chin? Political narratives, pandemics, and social distancing

Author

Listed:
  • Kartik Anand
  • Prasanna Gai
  • Edmund Lou
  • Sherry X Wu

Abstract

How does a political leader’s messaging during a pandemic influence social distancing by citizens? We model the strategic choice of narrative in a beauty contest setting where the leader seeks to eliminate the disease. The leader’s resolve to eliminate the disease affects her narrative in a non-linear way. A resolute leader adopts a highly partisan narrative that identifies strongly with her followers, albeit at the expense of her payoff, while an ambivalent leader with low resolve for eliminating the disease is less partisan. Our result speaks to the debate on the voluntary acceptance of limits to individual liberty during a pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Kartik Anand & Prasanna Gai & Edmund Lou & Sherry X Wu, 2020. "Be kind or take it on the chin? Political narratives, pandemics, and social distancing," CAMA Working Papers 2020-106, Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
    • Handle: RePEc:een:camaaa:2020-106
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    File URL: https://cama.crawford.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/publication/cama_crawford_anu_edu_au/2020-12/106_2020_anand_gai_lou_wu_0.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Beauty contests; pandemic; Covid-19; political narratives; leadership;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
    • D84 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Expectations; Speculations
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior

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