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Conditional Persistence? Historical Disease Exposure and Government Response to COVID-19

Author

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  • Lindskog, Annika

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Olsson, Ola

    (Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate differences in government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the theory of the Behavioral Immune System and the Para-site Stress Theory, we hypothesize that a higher historical disease exposure leads to a stricter government response to the pandemic, in particular during the first year which was characterized by fundamental uncertainty. Our empirical analysis, using weekly panel data for almost every country in the world, show that a higher historical disease exposure is indeed related to a stronger response to disease dynamics, at least in the first year of the pandemic. The pattern is the same for state-level containment policies within the United States. Our results suggest that the persistence of historical legacies may not be deterministic, but rather time-varying and conditional on circumstances. Cultural norms may matter more in times of crisis and fundamental uncertainty.

Suggested Citation

  • Lindskog, Annika & Olsson, Ola, 2023. "Conditional Persistence? Historical Disease Exposure and Government Response to COVID-19," Working Papers in Economics 835, University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunwpe:0835
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; cultural persistence; pathogen prevalence; containment policy; behavioral immune system;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

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

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