A Matter of Trust? Political Trust and the Covid-19 Pandemic

Arbeitspapier

There is significant cross-country variation in Covid-19 fatalities worldwide. In this study, we analyze the relationship between political trust and fatalities of the Covid-19 pandemic. By performing a cross-country analysis and controlling for other determinants, we find that government trust is negatively associated with Covid-19 cases and deaths. Additionally, our findings suggest that risk communication, in the form of public information campaigns, only decreased Covid-19 cases and deaths in countries with high trust in government. We also find evidence that political trust decreases the risk of removing lockdown policies.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: CESifo Working Paper ; No. 9121

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Health Behavior ; Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
• Subject: Covid-19 ; pandemic ; trust ; lockdown ; cross-country regression ; voluntary compliance

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Farzanegan, Mohammad Reza ; Hofmann, Hans Philipp
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute (CESifo)
• (where): Munich
• (when): 2021

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/236663
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET