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Conditional persistence? Historical disease exposure and government response to COVID-19

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  • Lindskog, Annika
  • Olsson, Ola

Abstract

Drawing on the literature on cultural adaptations to historical disease exposure, we investigate differences in government containment policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesize that a higher historical exposure to disease resulted in a stronger government response to recent COVID deaths, particularly during the first year of the pandemic characterized by fundamental uncertainty. Our empirical analysis confirms this hypothesis, both for differences in government responses to disease dynamics between countries and for differences in state-level containment policies within the United States. Our results suggest that the impact of historical health legacies on contemporary policy may be conditional on the character of the public health risk at hand. Deep cultural norms, determined by historical experiences, may play a minor role most of the time but are activated in times of fundamental uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindskog, Annika & Olsson, Ola, 2026. "Conditional persistence? Historical disease exposure and government response to COVID-19," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 635-654.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jcecon:v:54:y:2026:i:2:p:635-654
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jce.2026.01.003
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    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy

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