National and Sub-National Social Distancing Responses to COVID-19

Abstract

We examine the effectiveness of sub-national actions to control a novel disease, such as COVID-19, in the absence of national policy. Evidence shows that countries where sub-national governments have undertaken unilateral social distancing measures to combat the pandemic with little or no coordination have performed less well in controlling the spread of the disease. We explore analytically whether agreement on a common social distancing policy among sub-national governments, i.e., states or provinces, can lead to a better outcome than if each state or province pursues its own social distancing policy in isolation. A key feature of our model is that it accounts for the inter-jurisdictional spillover effects of each sub-national jurisdiction’s policy choice with respect to social distancing. Our results show that, in the absence of a national mandatory agreement, a sub-national agreement with sufficient coordination of social distancing policy among states yields a more effective and efficient control of a pandemic compared to states choosing policy unilaterally. These findings strongly support calls for greater cooperation among and assistance for sub-national governments to improve the effectiveness of their social distancing efforts in controlling the pandemic.

Psychometric properties of public trust in Covid-19 control and prevention policies questionnaire

“…This dimension measures the integrity of policies at all management levels of the country. Lack of coordination in policies and executive programs at national and local levels leads to low effectiveness [ 26 ]. Trust in the equitable supply and distribution of medical and protective equipment is one of the most critical issues in coronavirus control policies, which is assessed by the third dimension of this tool (α = 0.842).…”

E-banking usage by Gen X, Y, and Z generations

“…Businesses are compelled to use digital solutions due to regulation thar require social distancing (Iverson & Barbier, 2021). Since technology is an important driver of service innovation during times of crisis, we should take into account customer digital channels in our policies (Heinonen & Strandvik, 2020).…”