Experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and support for safety-net expansion

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

Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 2022, vol. 200, issue C, 1090-1104

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 pre-pandemic 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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Unemployment insurance; Healthcare; Safety net (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H2 H5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Experience of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Support for Safety-Net Expansion (2021)
Working Paper: COVID-19 Changed Tastes for Safety-Net Programs (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:200:y:2022:i:c:p:1090-1104

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2022.07.002

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