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Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Support for Safety-Net Expansion

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  • Alex Rees-Jones
  • John D’Attoma
  • Amedeo Piolatto
  • Luca Salvadori

Abstract

Did individuals’ experiences with the harms of the COVID-19 pandemic influence their attitudes towards safety-net programs? To assess this question, we combine rich information about county-level impacts and individual-level perceptions of the early pandemic, repeated measurements of attitudes towards safety-net expansion, and prepandemic measurements of related political attitudes. Individuals facing higher county-level impact or greater perceived risks are more likely to support long-term expansions to unemployment insurance and government-provided healthcare when surveyed in June 2020. These differences persist across time, with experiences in the early months of the pandemic remaining strongly predictive of attitudes towards safety-net expansion in early 2021.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Rees-Jones & John D’Attoma & Amedeo Piolatto & Luca Salvadori, 2021. "Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Support for Safety-Net Expansion," Working Papers 1294, Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:bge:wpaper:1294
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    Cited by:

    1. Miqdad Asaria & Joan Costa-Font & Frank Cowell, 2023. "How does exposure to COVID-19 influence health and income inequality aversion?," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 61(3), pages 625-647, October.
    2. Marcella Alsan & Luca Braghieri & Sarah Eichmeyer & Minjeong Joyce Kim & Stefanie Stantcheva & David Y. Yang, 2023. "Civil Liberties in Times of Crisis," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(4), pages 389-421, October.
    3. Gianmarco Daniele & Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Francesco Passarelli & Willem Sas & Lisa Windsteiger, 2023. "Externalities and the Erosion of Trust," CESifo Working Paper Series 10474, CESifo.
    4. Rees-Jones, Alex & D’Attoma, John & Piolatto, Amedeo & Salvadori, Luca, 2022. "Experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and support for safety-net expansion," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1090-1104.
    5. Bellani Luna & Fazio Andrea & Scervini Francesco, 2023. "Collective negative shocks and preferences for redistribution: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis in Germany," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 21(2), pages 381-403, June.
    6. Alexander Klemm & Paolo Mauro, 2022. "Pandemic and progressivity," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 29(2), pages 505-535, April.
    7. Gianmarco Daniele & Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Francesco Passarelli & Willem Sas & Lisa Windsteiger, 2020. "When Economic and Health Crises Collide: The Effect of Covid-19 on Political Attitudes," Working Papers tax-mpg-rps-2020-18_2, Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance.
    8. Leonardo Baccini & Abel Brodeur & Stephen Weymouth, 2021. "The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 US presidential election," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 739-767, April.
    9. Farzana Afridi & Kanika Mahajan & Nikita Sangwan, 2022. "Employment Guaranteed? Social Protection During a Pandemic," Oxford Open Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 1, pages 1-15.
    10. Marcella Alsan & Amitabh Chandra & Kosali Simon, 2021. "The Great Unequalizer: Initial Health Effects of COVID-19 in the United States," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 35(3), pages 25-46, Summer.
    11. Gianmarco Daniele & Andrea F.M. Martinangeli & Francesco Passarelli & Willem Sas & Lisa Windsteiger, 2020. "When Distrust Goes Viral: Causal Effects of Covid-19 on European Political Attitudes," CESifo Working Paper Series 8804, CESifo.
    12. Giuliano, Paola & Spilimbergo, Antonio, 2024. "Aggregate Shocks and the Formation of Preferences and Beliefs," IZA Discussion Papers 17110, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Daniele, Gianmarco & Martinangeli, Andrea F. M. & Passarelli, Francesco & Sas, Willem & Windsteiger, Lisa, 2023. "Regulation, Expectations, and the Erosion of Trust," VfS Annual Conference 2023 (Regensburg): Growth and the "sociale Frage" 277599, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    14. Cappelen, Alexander W. & Falch, Ranveig & Sørensen, Erik Ø. & Tungodden, Bertil, 2021. "Solidarity and fairness in times of crisis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 1-11.
    15. Begoña Cabeza; & Shaun Da Costa;, 2023. "Taxation for development: the impact of the Ebola epidemic on citizen support across Western Africa," Working Papers 2307, Herman Deleeck Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp.
    16. Zsoka Koczan & Alexander Plekhanov, 2024. "Scarred for Life? Recession Experiences, Beliefs and the State," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(4), pages 1074-1111, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19; Unemployment Insurance; healthcare; safety net;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
    • H5 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies

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