Public Choice Theory: An Explanation of the Pandemic Policy Responses

Panagiotis Karadimas

Chapter Chapter 5 in The Covid-19 Pandemic, 2023, pp 97-132 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Public choice theory suggests that the pandemic policy responses were in fact the result of politicians’ and bureaucrats’ ambition to pursue their own interest. The main target of politicians during the Covid-19 pandemic was the one that politicians typically aim at, i.e., to maximize votes. Lockdowns, mass vaccination, and vaccine passports are largely explained by the vote maximizing premise. Bureaucrats such as scientists who work for the government but who do not appear as candidates in the elections also engaged in utility maximizing during the Covid-19 pandemic by pursuing their own goals which include, among others, increased popularity and willingness to establish their reputation. A budget maximizing analysis is used to illustrate how an ever-increasing budget satisfies nearly all groups involved in the pandemic, i.e., politicians, bureaucrats, and voters. Findings from polls and election results verify the public choice analysis.

Keywords: Vote maximizing; Budget maximizing; Self-interested politicians (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:stpchp:978-3-031-24967-9_5

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-24967-9_5

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