The Real Cost of Political Polarization: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Makridis, Christos; Jt, Rothwell

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3638373

Cited by 112 publications

(119 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a popular view has gained ground that liberals are in favour of lockdowns to prevent the spread of the virus while conservatives are focused on resuming activities to prevent an economic downturn. This is supported by studies showing an association between conservative political ideology and reduced support for and compliance with pandemic prevention measures, at both the individual [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] and population [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] level. However, such a conclusion appears inconsistent with the well-known link between conservatism and increased threat-sensitivity (including pathogen aversion) 17,18 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Prediction 1: Economic progressives will display cooperative, empathic attitudes and policy preferences regarding ; social conservatives will display conformist, norm-enforcing attitudes and policy preferences regarding COVID-19. Recent studies taking a unidimensional view of ideology have found that the political left displayed more empathy-related 65,66 attitudes and behaviours like physical distancing [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] , but it is an open question whether economic or social progressives are driving this. Studies looking at unidimensional ideology also found that the political left has been more compliant with prevention measures and more in favour of strict policy to deal with the pandemic [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] , with only one study finding that political conservatism predicted stricter preferences (on border control) 5 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies taking a unidimensional view of ideology have found that the political left displayed more empathy-related 65,66 attitudes and behaviours like physical distancing [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] , but it is an open question whether economic or social progressives are driving this. Studies looking at unidimensional ideology also found that the political left has been more compliant with prevention measures and more in favour of strict policy to deal with the pandemic [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] , with only one study finding that political conservatism predicted stricter preferences (on border control) 5 . However, studies comparing country-level data around the globe have found a positive relationship between concerted COVID-19 response and several measures typically associated with political conservatismautocratic (vs. democratic) countries introduced stricter lockdowns, collectivistic (vs. individualistic) countries were more successful at reducing mobility 13 , and culturally "tight" (vs. "loose") countries were some of the most effective at limiting infection rates 14 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Dual Evolutionary Foundations of Political Ideology Predict Divergent Responses to COVID-19

Fischer¹,

Chaudhuri²,

Atkinson³

2020

Preprint

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A popular view, supported by several studies, is that liberals are more concerned than conservatives about COVID-19. This is puzzling given the strong pandemic responses from some conservative nations, and the well-established link between conservatism and threat-sensitivity. We argue a resolution is provided by the dual evolutionary foundations of political ideology, which track trade-offs between: (1) threat-driven group conformity (social conservatism or right-wing authoritarianism [RWA]) vs. individual autonomy (social progressivism); and (2) a competitive motivation for hierarchy (economic conservatism or social dominance orientation [SDO]) vs. cooperation (economic progressivism). Using longitudinal data from a UK sample (n=433), we show that social (RWA), but not economic (SDO), conservatism significantly increased following the pandemic, and self-reported worry about the pandemic predicts this effect. Moreover, both social conservatives and economic progressives display strong responses to COVID-19, but for different reasons. While social conservatives generally display more worried and conformist/norm-enforcing responses, economic progressives display more cooperative, empathic responses and only worried or conformist/norm-enforcing responses related to empathy. These findings provide an explanation for apparently inconsistent results of prior work, support the dual foundations model of political ideology, and offer insight into divergent motives across the ideological landscape that may be useful for managing pandemic response.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Dual Evolutionary Foundations of Political Ideology Predict Divergent Responses to COVID-19

Fischer¹,

Chaudhuri²,

Atkinson³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…"schools should not open", "masks should not be mandatory") but also in factual claims (i.e, "hydroxychloroquine works", "closing business will not hurt the economy"). Studies have consistently shown that attitudes toward COVID-19 and about the adequate measures to fight it have been polarized across party lines (Gadarian et al, 2020;Makridis & Rothwel, 2020). While Democrats show increased concern for the coronavirus and support stronger preventive measures (social distancing, quarantine), Republicans downplay the health risks of COVID-19 ("just like the flu") and deem preventive measures as non-necessary and harmful to the economy (Briki & Dagot, 2020).…”

Section: Exposure To Covid-19 and Partisan Disagreement About Pandemimentioning

confidence: 99%

Morbid Polarization: Exposure to COVID-19 and Partisan Disagreement about Pandemic Response

Gadarian²,

Goodman³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the lives of all Americans, but the severity of the pandemic has been experienced unevenly across space and time. Some states saw sharp rises in COVID-19 cases in early March, whereas case counts rose much later in the rest of the country. In this article, we examine the relationship between exposure to COVID-19 and citizens’ views on what type of measures are required to deal with the crises, and how experience with and exposure to COVID-19 is associated with greater partisan polarization. We find consistent evidence of partisan divergence in pandemic response policy preferences across the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic: Republicans support national control measures whereas Democrats support welfare policies, and interparty differences grow over time. We find only limited evidence that exposure or experience moderates these partisan differences. Our findings are consistent with the view that Americans’ interpret the COVID-19 pandemic in fundamentally partisan manner, and that objective pandemic conditions play at most a minor role in shaping mass preferences.

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“…With respect to COVID-19, Republicans perceive less risk due to COVID-19 and are more likely to believe that the pandemic is a hoax [23], and approval of President Trump drives the relationship between ideology and risk perceptions [24]. Support for and compliance with distancing behaviors are also strongly divided along party lines, with Democrats indicating greater support for distancing measures and complying with them at greater rates than Republicans [25]. These studies suggest that responses to COVID-19 relate to political party per se, rather than confounding factors such as population density (as more dense areas are both more liberal and have been more impacted by COVID-19).…”

Section: Politically Divided Response To Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of political ideology, stay-at-home rates, and increased risk taking in Ohio drivers during COVID-19 shutdown

Shoots‐Reinhard¹,

Shihab²

2020

Preprint

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In response to COVID-19, Ohio, along with many other states, enacted a stay-at-home order in March to limit the spread of the pandemic. Crashes appear to have fallen as people stayed home, but fatal crashes did not. We investigated whether increases in speeding, alcohol use, or drug use could have taken place to offset the reduction in traffic. In addition, we examined whether support for President Trump would relate to both stay-at-home compliance and rates of crashes. Stay-at-home compliance predicted lower overall crash rate, particularly for less severe crashes, but not for fatal crashes. We did not find evidence that speeding or drug-related crashes increased during the stay-at-home order, but percentage of speed-related crashes was higher in areas with greater stay-at-home compliance. Alcohol-related crashes were involved in a greater proportion of crashes during the shutdown, and as they are more severe, may explain why fatal crashes did not fall. Support for President Trump was related to lower stay-at-home compliance and increased percentage of alcohol-related crashes controlling for median income, rurality, and Appalachian region. The combination of rejection of recommendations from public health officials and increased rates of alcohol-related crashes may put a particular burden on Republicans.

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The Real Cost of Political Polarization: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 112 publications

References 31 publications

Dual Evolutionary Foundations of Political Ideology Predict Divergent Responses to COVID-19

Dual Evolutionary Foundations of Political Ideology Predict Divergent Responses to COVID-19

Morbid Polarization: Exposure to COVID-19 and Partisan Disagreement about Pandemic Response

Effect of political ideology, stay-at-home rates, and increased risk taking in Ohio drivers during COVID-19 shutdown

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