IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jpolmo/v44y2022i1p22-40.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fighting the COVID pandemic: National policy choices in non-pharmaceutical interventions

Author

Listed:
  • Alfano, Vincenzo
  • Ercolano, Salvatore
  • Pinto, Mauro

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed countries to adopt various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). Due to the features of the pandemic, which spread over time and space, governments could decide whether or not to follow policy choices made by leaders of countries affected by the virus before them. In this study, we aim to empirically model the adoption of NPIs during the first wave of COVID-19 in the 14 European countries with more than 10 million inhabitants, in order to detect whether a policy diffusion mechanism occurred. By means of a multivariate approach based on Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis, we manage to derive three clusters representing different behaviour models to which the different European countries belong in the different periods of the first wave: pre-pandemic, summer relaxation and deep-lockdown scenarios. These results bring a two-fold contribution: on the one hand, they may help us to understand differences and similarities among European countries during the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak and guide future quantitative or qualitative studies; on the other, our findings suggest that with minor exceptions (such as Sweden and Poland), different countries adopted very similar policy strategies, which are likely to be due more to the unfolding of the pandemic than to specific governmental strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfano, Vincenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore & Pinto, Mauro, 2022. "Fighting the COVID pandemic: National policy choices in non-pharmaceutical interventions," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 22-40.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:1:p:22-40
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jpolmod.2021.11.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0161893822000011
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jpolmod.2021.11.003?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elina De Simone & Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta & Salvatore Ercolano, 2012. "Exploring Public Social Expenditure Trends in the Globalization Era," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 23-42.
    2. Berry, William D. & Baybeck, Brady, 2005. "Using Geographic Information Systems to Study Interstate Competition," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 99(4), pages 505-519, November.
    3. Jesús Ferreiro & M. Teresa García-del-Valle & Carmen Gómez, 2013. "An Analysis of the Convergence of the Composition of Public Expenditures in European Union Countries," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 799-825, October.
    4. Salvatore Ercolano & Oriana Romano, 2018. "Spending for the Environment: General Government Expenditure Trends in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1145-1169, August.
    5. Simmons, Beth A. & Elkins, Zachary, 2004. "The Globalization of Liberalization: Policy Diffusion in the International Political Economy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 98(1), pages 171-189, February.
    6. Adam J. Newmark, 2002. "An Integrated Approach To Policy Transer And Diffusion," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 19(2), pages 151-178, June.
    7. Simmons, Beth A. & Dobbin, Frank & Garrett, Geoffrey, 2006. "Introduction: The International Diffusion of Liberalism," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 60(4), pages 781-810, October.
    8. Kumar, Anand & Priya, Bhawna & Srivastava, Samir K., 2021. "Response to the COVID-19: Understanding implications of government lockdown policies," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 76-94.
    9. Vincenzo Alfano & Salvatore Ercolano, 2020. "The Efficacy of Lockdown Against COVID-19: A Cross-Country Panel Analysis," Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 509-517, August.
    10. Khairulbahri, Muhamad, 2021. "Lessons learned from three Southeast Asian countries during the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(6), pages 1354-1364.
    11. Bonatti, Luigi & Fracasso, Andrea, 2019. "Policy inertia, self-defeating expectations and structural reforms: can policy modeling cope?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(5), pages 943-962.
    12. Charles R. Shipan & Craig Volden, 2008. "The Mechanisms of Policy Diffusion," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 52(4), pages 840-857, October.
    13. Gonzalo Casta~eda & Omar A. Guerrero, 2019. "The Importance of Social and Government Learning in Ex Ante Policy Evaluation," Papers 1902.00429, arXiv.org.
    14. Jesús Ferreiro & M. Teresa García-del-Valle & Carmen Gómez, 2010. "Social preferences and fiscal policies: an analysis of the composition of public expenditures in the European Union," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 347-370, April.
    15. Castañeda, Gonzalo & Guerrero, Omar A., 2019. "The importance of social and government learning in ex ante policy evaluation," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 273-293.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lopez-Medoza, Hector & González-Álvarez, Maria A. & Montañés, Antonio, 2023. "Assessing the effectiveness of international government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic," MPRA Paper 117826, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Alfano, Vincenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore, 2023. "Fear itself. Is fear a determinant of the efficacy oflockdowns?," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Alfano, Vincenzo & Capasso, Salvatore & Ercolano, Salvatore & Goel, Rajeev K., 2022. "Death takes no bribes: Impact of perceived corruption on the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions at combating COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    4. Funke, Michael & Ho, Tai-kuang & Tsang, Andrew, 2023. "Containment measures during the COVID pandemic: The role of non-pharmaceutical health policies," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 90-102.
    5. Alfano, Vincenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore, 2022. "Back to school or … back to lockdown? The effects of opening schools on the diffusion of COVID-19 in Italian regions," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PB).
    6. Alfano, Vincenzo & Guarino, Massimo, 2023. "The effect of self-esteem on the spread of a pandemic. A cross-country analysis of the role played by self-esteem in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    7. Alfano, Vincenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore & Pinto, Mauro, 2022. "Carrot and stick: Economic support and stringency policies in response to COVID-19," Evaluation and Program Planning, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jorge Chica‐Olmo & Marina Checa‐Olivas, 2021. "Spatial impact of factors influencing the achievement of the Europa2020 employment targets," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(3), pages 633-649, June.
    2. Sophie Perrin & Thomas Bernauer, 2010. "International regime formation revisited: Explaining ratification behaviour with respect to long-range transboundary air pollution agreements in Europe," European Union Politics, , vol. 11(3), pages 405-426, September.
    3. Felix Strebel & Thomas Widmer, 2012. "Visibility and facticity in policy diffusion: going beyond the prevailing binarity," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 45(4), pages 385-398, December.
    4. Katherine H. Tennis & Rachel Sullivan Robinson, 2020. "Where Do Population Policies Come From? Copying in African Fertility and Refugee Policies," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 39(2), pages 175-205, April.
    5. Gratiela Georgiana Noja & Mirela Cristea & Nicoleta Sirghi & Camelia-Daniela Hategan & Paolo D’Anselmi, 2019. "Promoting Good Public Governance and Environmental Support for Sustainable Economic Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-21, December.
    6. Fenton Villar, Paul, 2020. "The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and trust in politicians," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Fabrizio Gilardi, 2010. "Who Learns from What in Policy Diffusion Processes?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(3), pages 650-666, July.
    8. Evan M. Mistur & John Wagner Givens & Daniel C. Matisoff, 2023. "Contagious COVID‐19 policies: Policy diffusion during times of crisis," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 40(1), pages 36-62, January.
    9. Salvatore Ercolano & Oriana Romano, 2018. "Spending for the Environment: General Government Expenditure Trends in Europe," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1145-1169, August.
    10. Miriam Koning & Gerard Mertens & Peter Roosenboom, 2018. "Drivers of institutional change around the world: The case of IFRS," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 49(3), pages 249-271, April.
    11. Torben Heinze, 2011. "Mechanism-Based Thinking on Policy Diffusion. A Review of Current Approaches in Political Science," KFG Working Papers p0034, Free University Berlin.
    12. Alan Barrell & Pawel Dobrzanski & Sebastian Bobowski & Krzysztof Siuda & Szymon Chmielowiec, 2021. "Efficiency of Environmental Protection Expenditures in EU Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-35, December.
    13. Chahine, Salim & Chidambaran, N.K., 2023. "Do sovereign-bond issuers learn from peers?," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    14. Schaffer, Lena Maria & Bernauer, Thomas, 2014. "Explaining government choices for promoting renewable energy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 15-27.
    15. Brian Y. An & Adam Butz & Min-Kyeong Cha & Joshua L. Mitchell, 2023. "Following neighbors or regional leaders? Unpacking the effect of geographic proximity in local climate policy diffusion," Policy Sciences, Springer;Society of Policy Sciences, vol. 56(4), pages 825-868, December.
    16. Alfano, Vincenzo & Guarino, Massimo, 2023. "The effect of self-esteem on the spread of a pandemic. A cross-country analysis of the role played by self-esteem in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    17. Sebastian Krapohl & Václav Ocelík & Dawid M. Walentek, 2021. "The instability of globalization: applying evolutionary game theory to global trade cooperation," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 31-51, July.
    18. Daniel Berliner, 2013. "Follow your Neighbor? Regional Emulation and the Design of Transparency Policies," KFG Working Papers p0055, Free University Berlin.
    19. Kemmerling, Achim, 2006. "Diffusion und Interaktion in der Arbeitsmarktpolitik? Positive und negative Ansteckungseffekte am Beispiel zweier Reformdiskussionen," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Labor Market Policy and Employment SP I 2006-119, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    20. A. Davola & I. Querci & S. Romani, 2023. "No Consumer Is an Island—Relational Disclosure as a Regulatory Strategy to Advance Consumer Protection Against Microtargeting," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 1-25, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; NPIs; Policy diffusion; Policy convergence; CA; PCA; OxCGRT;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C38 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Classification Methdos; Cluster Analysis; Principal Components; Factor Analysis
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jpolmo:v:44:y:2022:i:1:p:22-40. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/505735 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.