The politicized pandemic: Ideological polarization and the behavioral response to COVID-19

Gianluca Grimalda, Fabrice Murtin, David Pipke, Louis Putterman and Matthias Sutter

European Economic Review, 2023, vol. 156, issue C

Abstract: In a representative sample of the U.S. population during the first summer of the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigate how prosociality and ideology interact in their relationship with health-protecting behavior and trust in the government to handle the crisis. We find that an experimental measure of prosociality based on standard economic games positively relates to protective behavior. Conservatives are less compliant with COVID-19-related behavioral restrictions than liberals and evaluate the government's handling of the crisis significantly more positively. We show that prosociality does not mediate the impact of political ideology. This finding means that conservatives are less compliant with protective health guidelines - independent of differences in prosociality between both ideological camps. Behavioral differences between liberals and conservatives are roughly only one-fourth of the size of their differences in judging the government's crisis management. This result suggests that Americans were more polarized in their political views than in their acceptance of public health advice.

Keywords: Polarization; Ideology; Trust in politicians; COVID-19; Prosociality; Health behavior; Worries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D01 D72 D91 H11 H12 I12 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Related works:
Working Paper: The Politicized Pandemic: Ideological Polarization and the Behavioral Response to COVID-19 (2022)
Working Paper: The Politicized Pandemic: Ideological Polarization and the Behavioral Response to COVID-19 (2022)
Working Paper: The politicized pandemic: Ideological polarization and the behavioral response to COVID-19 (2022)
Working Paper: The politicized pandemic: Ideological polarization and the behavioral response to COVID-19 (2022)
Working Paper: The politicized pandemic: Ideological polarization and the behavioral response to COVID-19 (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:156:y:2023:i:c:s0014292123001010

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2023.104472

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