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Political Manipulation Behind the COVID-19 ‘Color Code’ in Italy?

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Busetta

    (University of Messina)

  • Fabio Fiorillo

    (Marche Politechnic University)

Abstract

During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Italian government implemented stringent containment measures (lockdown) to curb the spread of the virus. However, in the subsequent wave, a regional approach was adopted, categorizing areas into different colored zones with varying restrictions based on local risk levels. This study aims at investigating whether, in addition to health considerations, political factors such as the facilitation of mobility flows influenced the imposition of regional restrictions. The underlying premise is that if restrictions are solely driven by public health factors as mandated by law, the probability of assigning a particular color to a region should be determined solely by these health-related factors. Using probit and logit models on a regional panel dataset, our findings suggest potential indications of political manipulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Busetta & Fabio Fiorillo, 2024. "Political Manipulation Behind the COVID-19 ‘Color Code’ in Italy?," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 10(2), pages 901-928, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:italej:v:10:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s40797-023-00238-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s40797-023-00238-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Chiara F. Del Bo, 2021. "The role of subnational autonomy in the COVID-19 pandemic: Initial evidence," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(4), pages 2188-2205.
    2. Rafael González‐Val & Fernando Sanz‐Gracia, 2022. "Urbanization and COVID‐19 incidence: A cross‐country investigation," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(2), pages 399-415, April.
    3. Andrea Caragliu, 2022. "Better together: Untapped potentials in Central Europe," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 101(5), pages 1051-1085, October.
    4. Ewen Gallic & Michel Lubrano & Pierre Michel, 2021. "Optimal lockdowns for COVID‐19 pandemics: Analyzing the efficiency of sanitary policies in Europe," Post-Print hal-03448747, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regional classification of pandemic risk; Airport passenger flows; Political manipulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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