IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/porgrv/v22y2022i2d10.1007_s11115-022-00614-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Scientific Expertise in COVID-19 Policy-making: Evidence from Four European Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Ron Hodges

    (University of Birmingham)

  • Eugenio Caperchione

    (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia)

  • Jan Helden

    (University of Groningen)

  • Christoph Reichard

    (University of Potsdam)

  • Daniela Sorrentino

    (University of Siena)

Abstract

Immense uncertainty and the need for drastic interventions cause politicians to rely heavily on scientific advice for underpinning or legitimating their COVID-19 decision-making. This paper explores the role of scientific advice in this policy field in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. It shows that scientific advice is based on the disciplinary, mainly medical, backgrounds of advisors but is also influenced by social and economic values, which are core to what politicians find important. During the pandemic a growing gap between scientific advice and political decisions is observed.

Suggested Citation

  • Ron Hodges & Eugenio Caperchione & Jan Helden & Christoph Reichard & Daniela Sorrentino, 2022. "The Role of Scientific Expertise in COVID-19 Policy-making: Evidence from Four European Countries," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 249-267, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:porgrv:v:22:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11115-022-00614-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11115-022-00614-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11115-022-00614-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11115-022-00614-z?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. Ahrens, Thomas & Chapman, Christopher S., 2006. "Doing qualitative field research in management accounting: Positioning data to contribute to theory," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(8), pages 819-841, November.
    2. Van Dooren, Wouter & Noordegraaf, Mirko, 2020. "Staging Science: Authoritativeness and Fragility of Models and Measurement in the COVID-19 Crisis," SocArXiv nfm5j, Center for Open Science.
    3. Alessandro Sancino & Christian Garavaglia & Mariafrancesca Sicilia & Alessandro Braga, 2021. "New development: Covid-19 and its publics—implications for strategic management and democracy," Public Money & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 404-407, July.
    4. Burchell, Stuart & Clubb, Colin & Hopwood, Anthony & Hughes, John & Nahapiet, Janine, 1980. "The roles of accounting in organizations and society," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 5-27, January.
    5. Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe & David Obstfeld, 2005. "Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 409-421, August.
    6. Christopher Ansell & Eva Sørensen & Jacob Torfing, 2021. "The COVID-19 pandemic as a game changer for public administration and leadership? The need for robust governance responses to turbulent problems," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 949-960, July.
    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. Janne Aarts & Eva Gerth & David Ludwig & Harro Maat & Phil Macnaghten, 2022. "The Dutch see Red: (in)formal science advisory bodies during the COVID-19 pandemic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Tom Christensen & Per Lægreid, 2022. "Special Issue on The Scientization of Public Decision-Making Processes – the Relevance for the Handling of the COVID-19 Pandemic," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 215-221, June.
    3. Florian Fischer & Julia Wicherski & Myriam Tobollik & Timothy McCall, 2022. "Experiences Shared by the (Future) Public Health Workforce during the COVD-19 Pandemic in Germany: Results of a Survey on Workload, Work Content, and Related Challenges among Students and Young Profes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-16, September.
    4. Paul Cairney & Federico Toth, 2023. "The politics of COVID-19 experts: comparing winners and losers in Italy and the UK," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 42(3), pages 392-405.

    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. Rowe, Casey & Shields, Michael D. & Birnberg, Jacob G., 2012. "Hardening soft accounting information: Games for planning organizational change," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 260-279.
    2. Giuliani, Marco & Skoog, Matti, 2020. "Making sense of the temporal dimension of intellectual capital: A critical case study," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    3. Jørgensen, Brian & Messner, Martin, 2010. "Accounting and strategising: A case study from new product development," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 184-204, February.
    4. André, Kévin & Cho, Charles H. & Laine, Matias, 2018. "Reference points for measuring social performance: Case study of a social business venture," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 660-678.
    5. Aburous, Dina, 2019. "IFRS and institutional work in the accounting domain," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1-15.
    6. Palermo, Tommaso & Power, Michael & Ashby, Simon, 2022. "How accounting ends: self-undermining repetition in accounting lifecycles," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115278, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    7. Fasshauer, Ingrid, 2012. "Les interactions entre contrôle et stratégie : redéfinition du rôle des cadres intermédiaires et du levier interactif de contrôle," Economics Thesis from University Paris Dauphine, Paris Dauphine University, number 123456789/11150 edited by Berland, Nicolas.
    8. Hall, Matthew, 2010. "Accounting information and managerial work," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 35(3), pages 301-315, April.
    9. Dixon, Keith, 2013. "Growth and dispersion of accounting research about New Zealand before and during a National Research Assessment Exercise: Five decades of academic journals bibliometrics," MPRA Paper 51100, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Carol A. Adams & Carlos Larrinaga‐González, 2007. "Engaging with organisations in pursuit of improved sustainability accounting and performance," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 20(3), pages 333-355, June.
    11. Aziza Laguecir & Anja Kern & Cécile Kharoubi, 2020. "Management accounting systems in institutional complexity: Hysteresis and boundaries of practices in social housing," Post-Print hal-03134361, HAL.
    12. Malsch, Bertrand & Gendron, Yves, 2009. "Mythical representations of trust in auditors and the preservation of social order in the financial community," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 20(6), pages 735-750.
    13. Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2010. "Critical accounting research in Africa: Whence and whither," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 420-427.
    14. Goretzki, Lukas & Reuter, Marek & Sandberg, Joanna & Thulin, Gabriella, 2022. "Making sense of employee satisfaction measurement – A technological frames of reference perspective," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(1).
    15. Brooks, Chris & Fenton, Evelyn & Schopohl, Lisa & Walker, James, 2019. "Why does research in finance have so little impact?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 24-52.
    16. Covaleski, Mark A. & Dirsmith, Mark W. & Weiss, Jane M., 2013. "The social construction, challenge and transformation of a budgetary regime: The endogenization of welfare regulation by institutional entrepreneurs," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 333-364.
    17. Jørgensen, Lene & Jordan, Silvia & Mitterhofer, Hermann, 2012. "Sensemaking and discourse analyses in inter-organizational research: A review and suggested advances," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 107-120.
    18. Puhakka, Hannu, 2017. "The role of accounting in making sense of post-acquisition integration," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 12-22.
    19. Juhani Vaivio, 2008. "Qualitative management accounting research: rationale, pitfalls and potential," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 64-86, March.
    20. repec:dau:papers:123456789/2769 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Mohamed Chelli & Yves Gendron, 2013. "Sustainability Ratings and the Disciplinary Power of the Ideology of Numbers," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(2), pages 187-203, January.

    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:kap:porgrv:v:22:y:2022:i:2:d:10.1007_s11115-022-00614-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.